Cancelled flight: what you are owed when the airline calls it off
Three times decide a cancellation claim: when you were told, when the replacement leaves and when it lands.
Your compensation · HAM · Hamburg → LIS · Lisbon
€0
No compensation owed
- EU Regulation 261/20040 · not owed
Told 7 to 14 days ahead and rerouted close to the original times: nothing owed.
- Great-circle distance
- 2,198 km
- Distance band
- 1,500 to 3,500 km
- Time limit in Germany (BGB s. 195, 199)
- 31 December 2029
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · law as of October 22, 2026 · 4,008 airports (OurAirports)
When an airline cancels your flight, Articles 5 and 7 of EU261 give you the same compensation as for a long delay: €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 up to 3,500 km or within the EU, €600 beyond; UK261 pays £220, £350 or £520 on flights it covers. Nothing is owed if you were told at least 14 days before departure. With 7 to 14 days’ notice, nothing is owed only if the replacement leaves no more than two hours early and arrives less than four hours late; with under 7 days, the limits are one hour early and less than two hours late. Separately, you choose between a refund of the ticket within seven days and rerouting to your destination, and the airline must look after you while you wait. The burden of proving when you were informed lies on the airline. For EU flights from 23 October 2027 the middle tier disappears: below 14 days, only a replacement leaving at most one hour early and arriving less than two hours late avoids compensation.
The example in the calculator
The calculator is set to Hamburg to Lisbon, 2,198 km, the middle band of €400. The airline cancelled nine days ahead and the replacement lands two and a half hours late. Because the notice fell between 7 and 14 days and the replacement arrived less than four hours late, nothing is owed. Had the warning come five days out, the limit would have been two hours, and the same two and a half hours would have triggered compensation, halved under Article 7(2) because the new arrival was within three hours of the original.
The rules by notice period
| Notice given | Nothing owed if the replacement… | EU from 23 Oct 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days or more | always (no claim) | always (no claim) |
| 7 to 14 days | leaves at most 2 h early and lands less than 4 h late | at most 1 h early, under 2 h late |
| under 7 days | leaves at most 1 h early and lands less than 2 h late | at most 1 h early, under 2 h late |
Try your own notice period
EU261 today
€200
| EU261 from 23 Oct 2027 | €400 |
Replacement flight accepted, leaving at the original time.
Refund or rerouting: your choice
Article 8 gives you three options. A full refund of the ticket within seven days, for the unused parts and, if the trip has lost its purpose, for parts already flown, with a flight back to where you started. Rerouting to your final destination at the earliest opportunity under comparable conditions. Or rerouting on a later date that suits you, subject to seats. Until you are on your way, the airline owes care: meals and, if you have to stay overnight, a hotel and transfers. That duty applies even when bad weather caused the cancellation and no compensation is due.
A voucher is not a refund. If you asked for your money, you do not have to accept credit in a customer account: vouchers need your written agreement.
UK flights
On flights covered by UK261 the same three tiers apply, with £220, £350 or £520. The Civil Aviation Authority’s cancellation guidance reads the rules in the same way. No reform of UK261 had been adopted by October 2026, so the 2027 changes below do not apply to flights from the UK.
When a cancellation costs the airline nothing
Apart from timely notice, the exemption is extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided with all reasonable measures. “Operational reasons”, staff shortages or a routine technical fault do not meet that test under settled case law: see extraordinary circumstances.
From October 2027 in the EU
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 keeps the 14 days but merges the lower tiers into one test: at most one hour early and less than two hours late. Airlines must offer rerouting; if they do nothing for three hours, you may book yourself and recover up to 400% of the fare. Claims must be filed within 9 months. Details: EU261 reform 2027.