EU261 compensation: the regulation, read from the passenger’s side
Before any money changes hands, two questions decide most claims: is the flight covered, and which airline is liable?
Your compensation · DUS · Düsseldorf → IST · Istanbul
€400
per passenger, no deduction · owed
- EU Regulation 261/2004€400 · owed
Three hours or more late at the final destination: full compensation (CJEU, Sturgeon).
- Great-circle distance
- 2,010 km
- Distance band
- 1,500 to 3,500 km
- Time limit in Germany (BGB s. 195, 199)
- 31 December 2029
Write the claim letter to the airline
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · law as of October 22, 2026 · 4,008 airports (OurAirports)
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, known as EU261, covers every flight departing from an airport in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, whatever the airline, and flights arriving in the EU from outside when the operating airline holds an EU operating licence. The claim always lies against the operating carrier, the company that actually flies the aircraft, not the travel agent and not necessarily the airline whose flight number is on your ticket. For cancellation and denied boarding the text itself grants compensation under Article 7: €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 up to 3,500 km and for intra-EU flights beyond that, €600 for longer routes. For arrival delays of three hours or more the Court of Justice has granted the same amounts. On top of that come refund or rerouting (Article 8) and care such as meals and hotels (Article 9), and none of these rights can be waived in the contract (Article 15). Since leaving the EU the UK applies its own copy, UK261, in pounds. An amended EU text applies from 23 October 2027.
Coverage in two sentences
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 looks at where you depart and who flies you. Departing from the EU, the wider European Economic Area or Switzerland, you are protected on any airline, European or not. Flying into the EU from outside, you are protected only if the operating airline is licensed in a member state. The calculator above is set to Düsseldorf to Istanbul on a non-EU airline: EU261 applies, because the flight starts in Germany.
| Route | EU airline | Non-EU airline |
|---|---|---|
| Düsseldorf to Istanbul | covered | covered |
| Istanbul to Düsseldorf | covered | not covered |
| New York to Frankfurt | covered | not covered |
| London to Frankfurt | covered by EU261 and UK261 | UK261 only |
| Frankfurt to London | covered | covered |
Two further conditions sit in Article 3(2): a confirmed reservation, and turning up for check-in on time, either at the time the airline gave you or, if none was given, no later than 45 minutes before the published departure. If you were rerouted onto another flight, you are covered on that flight too.
The operating carrier, not the seller
Article 2(b) defines the operating air carrier as the one that performs, or intends to perform, a flight under a contract with a passenger or on behalf of someone else. If your boarding pass says “operated by” another company, that company is the one to write to, even if you paid a different airline. This matters most on codeshares and on holiday flights where an aircraft and crew are leased in. If the operating carrier pays and believes a third party caused the problem, Article 13 lets it recover the money from them; that is its problem, not yours.
Articles 4 to 10 at a glance
| Article | Situation | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Denied boarding | Volunteers first, then compensation and care |
| 5 | Cancellation | Compensation unless warned in time or extraordinary |
| 6 | Delay | Care from 2, 3 or 4 hours; refund option from 5 hours |
| 7 | Amounts | €250, €400 or €600 |
| 8 | Choice | Refund within 7 days, or rerouting |
| 9 | Care | Meals, hotel, transfers, two calls or emails |
| 10 | Downgrading | 30, 50 or 75% of the fare |
Which band is your route in?
EU261 today (1,500 to 3,500 km)
€400
| UK261 | £350 |
| Long haul, 3 to 4 h late | – |
UK261: the same structure in pounds
UK261 keeps the EU text almost word for word, with £220, £350 and £520 in place of the euro amounts. It covers departures from the UK on any airline, arrivals in the UK on a UK or EU airline, and arrivals in the EU on a UK airline. A London to Frankfurt flight on an EU airline can therefore fall under both texts; you are paid once, under whichever you choose. The detailed UK rules are on the UK261 page.
Who enforces it and what is changing
Each member state names an enforcement body; in Germany it is the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, which can fine airlines but does not collect individual payments. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 rewrites the text for flights from 23 October 2027, with a 9-month window to claim: see the 2027 reform.