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You could be entitled to up to €600 in compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004. Check for free in 2 minutes.
EU Regulation 261/2004 covers flights departing from an airport in the EU, and flights arriving in the EU with an EU airline. The same rules apply in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, and the United Kingdom has its own version of them.
You reached your final destination at least 3 hours late. What counts is the moment the aircraft doors open on arrival.
The airline cancelled your flight and told you less than 14 days before departure.
You were not allowed to board, for example because the flight was overbooked, although you had checked in on time.
A delay made you miss a connecting flight on the same booking, and you reached your destination 3 hours or more late.
No compensation is owed if the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances the airline could not have avoided, such as severe weather or an air traffic control strike. A technical fault is usually not one of them.
The amount is per passenger, whatever the ticket cost. It can be halved if the airline rerouted you and you arrived no more than 2 to 4 hours late, depending on the distance.
| Fee | Who holds your compensation | Your expenses (meals, hotel, taxi) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlightClaim24 | Fixed: €39 / €60 / €90 | Nobody — the airline pays you directly | Claimed in the same letter at no extra cost — you keep 100% |
| Skycop | 44% (up to 50% with legal action) | Skycop collects it first, then pays your share | Not in their terms — only what the airline pays voluntarily, minus the commission |
| AirHelp | 35% (up to 50% with legal action) | AirHelp collects it first, then pays your share | At AirHelp's discretion, no guarantee |
| AirAdvisor | 30% (up to 50% with legal action) | AirAdvisor collects it first, then pays your share | Claimed, with a 40% fee |
| Flightright | 23.8–35.7% (up to 52.4% with legal action) | Flightright collects it first, then pays your share | Not claimed — they send you to the airline |
On a €600 claim (long-haul):
| You keep — without legal action | You keep — with legal action | Family of four (4 × €600) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlightClaim24 | €510 | €510 | €2310 |
| Skycop | €336 | €300 | €1344 |
| AirHelp | €390 | €300 | €1560 |
| AirAdvisor | €420 | €300 | €1680 |
| Flightright | €457–386 | €357–286 | €1829–1543 |
You pay the FlightClaim24 fixed price only once per letter, and one letter covers every passenger on the booking. The others charge for each person.
For a family of four on a long-haul flight, that's €481 to €966 more in your pocket without legal action, and the gap grows with every extra passenger.
Your expenses too: if you paid for meals, a hotel or a taxi because the airline did not provide them, our letter also claims them back (Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation 261/2004) at no extra cost, and every euro goes to you.
All prices include VAT, as published by the providers on 24.10.2026 (handling of expenses checked on 27.10.2026). The FlightClaim24 price does not include court proceedings.
Even an airline says it: claim directly and receive 100%
In its own help centre, Ryanair advises passengers to submit compensation claims directly to the airline in order to receive 100% of their compensation, and points out that claim companies may keep fees of up to 50%. With Flightright and a lawyer, it can even be up to 52.36%. With FlightClaim24 you also claim directly: you send the letter yourself, and the airline pays the full compensation to you.
Airlines often turn claims down, though: according to an analysis by the claim company AirHelp, airlines rejected 58% of valid compensation claims the first time passengers submitted them in 2025, and almost a third of those got no answer at all. The airline's own form is a good first step. If the airline refuses, cites "extraordinary circumstances" or does not answer, the next step is a formal claim: our ready-to-send letter with the legal basis (Articles 5 and 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004), the court rulings that apply to your case, the exact amount and a deadline. It is the step before an arbitration body.
Source: Ryanair Help Centre, "Claims Management Companies", updated on 2 October 2026, checked on 25 October 2026. FlightClaim24 has no connection with Ryanair; Ryanair recommends its own free claim form. Source of the figures: AirHelp, "Wrongful claim rejections", last updated on 23 October 2026 (claims under EU, UK and other passenger rights rules).
Compensation is owed to every passenger, but one FlightClaim24 letter claims it for everyone on the same booking, so you pay the fixed price only once. Claim portals take their fee from every passenger's compensation.
Family of four, long-haul flight: 4 × €600 = €2,400
You keep with FlightClaim24€2,310
You keep with Skycop€1,344
You keep with AirHelp€1,560
You keep with AirAdvisor€1,680
You keep with Flightright€1,829–1,543
| Do it yourself | FlightClaim24 | Full-service agencies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Fixed fee, shown before you pay | 25–44% of your compensation |
| Effort | You research the rules and write the letter yourself | We draft the letter for you in minutes | They handle everything, including legal action |
| You keep | 100% of your compensation | Most of your compensation | 56–75% of your compensation |
| Time to get started | As long as you need | A few minutes | A few minutes |
EU261 compensation guide: how much you can get, what counts as an extraordinary circumstance and how long you have to claim, step by step.
Technical fault and flight compensation: under EU Court rulings, most technical problems do not cancel your EU261 compensation. When you are still owed.
Overbooking compensation: bumped from your flight? You are owed €250–600 under EU261, plus a refund or another flight. Volunteer vs. denied boarding.
Booking site and flight compensation: your EU261 rights are against the airline, wherever you booked. Why you never claim from the booking site.
We check whether you are likely entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004 for a delayed or cancelled flight. If you want to proceed, we generate a ready-to-send claim letter for a fixed fee.
A fixed fee, shown to you before you pay, based on your flight's distance — never a percentage of your compensation.
Those services charge 25–44% of your compensation and handle the whole process for you, including legal action if needed. We charge a small fixed fee and give you a ready-to-send letter — you keep almost all of your compensation, but you send the claim yourself.
It depends on the country, generally between 1 and 10 years after the flight. See the table below for details.
Your letter includes next steps, including how to escalate to your National Enforcement Body.
No. This is an informational tool, not legal advice, and we do not guarantee any outcome. See our Terms of Service for details.
| Country | Time limit |
|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 10 years |
| United Kingdom | 6 years |
| Ireland | 6 years |
| France | 5 years |
| Spain | 5 years |
| Germany | 3 years |
| Austria | 3 years |
| Denmark | 3 years |
| Portugal | 3 years |
| Netherlands | 2 years |
| Belgium | 1 year |
| Poland | 1 year |
General guidelines based on public sources, not legal advice — deadlines can change and depend on your specific case. Always verify before relying on them.
The check is free, the fixed price is shown before you pay, and the airline pays you directly.
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