Flight delayed or cancelled: meals, hotel and expenses you can claim back

Separately from compensation, EU261 gives you a right to care while you wait: meals, refreshments, a hotel if you must stay overnight, transport to it, and two communications. This right depends on how long the delay is, not on who is to blame, and it applies even when the airline is not liable for compensation. If the airline does not provide care, you can claim back what you reasonably spent.

Last updated: 5 October 2026.

When does the right to care start?

For delays, the right depends on the length of the delay at departure and the distance of the flight (Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004). The airline must offer care when it reasonably expects the departure to be delayed by:

If the delay is at least five hours, you also have the right to cancel the trip and get a refund of the ticket, together with a return flight to your first departure point if relevant (Article 6(1)(iii), referring to Article 8(1)(a)).

For cancellations and denied boarding, the right to care applies in every case, whatever the length of the wait.

What the airline must provide free of charge

Under Article 9, the airline must offer:

• Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time;
• Hotel accommodation if one or more nights' stay becomes necessary, or a stay longer than you intended;
• Transport between the airport and the hotel;
• Two telephone calls, messages or emails.

The Commission's guidelines add that care must be offered actively, in a clear and accessible way, and that you should not be left to find and pay for a hotel or food yourself. Special attention is due to passengers with reduced mobility and unaccompanied children, who have the right to care "as soon as possible" (Article 11).

How long does the right to care last?

It lasts as long as you have to wait for rerouting at the earliest opportunity (or for a return flight). If you agree with the airline on rerouting at a later date, at your own convenience, the right to care ends (Article 8(1)(c)).

Does it apply when the airline says "extraordinary circumstances"?

Yes. The duty of care applies even if the cancellation or delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances, and even when those circumstances last a long time. The Court rejected the idea of a separate category of "particularly extraordinary" events that would excuse the airline from care (Case C-12/11, McDonagh, in the volcanic ash crisis). Extraordinary circumstances only affect the right to compensation.

One limit: the guidelines recall recital 18, under which care may be limited or declined if providing it would itself cause further delay. For example, if a flight is delayed late in the evening but can be expected to leave within a few hours, and taking passengers to hotels and back in the middle of the night would create a much longer delay, the airline may decline to provide a hotel. The Commission says this should apply only in very exceptional cases.

If the airline did not offer care: claiming your expenses back

If care was not offered even though it should have been, you can claim reimbursement of what you spent on meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation, transport between the airport and the hotel, and telecommunications, provided the expenses were necessary, reasonable and appropriate (Case C-12/11, McDonagh).

• Keep every receipt. The Commission recommends that passengers retain all receipts.
• Be reasonable. A sensible meal and a standard hotel will be accepted. A luxury hotel will not.
• If you refuse the airline's reasonable offer and make your own arrangements, the airline does not have to reimburse you, unless national law says otherwise or it agreed in advance. In any case, reimbursement can never exceed the value of the airline's reasonable offer.
• Hotel arrangements. The Court has held that the airline must make sure you have a hotel and bear the cost, but does not necessarily have to book a specific room in your name (Case C-530/19, Niki Luftfahrt).

Is care the same as compensation?

No. Care is about meals and a bed while you wait. Compensation (250, 400 or 600 euros) is a fixed amount for a delay of at least three hours at your final destination, a late-notified cancellation, or denied boarding. You can have one without the other. If you want to claim damage beyond the fixed amount, such as losses from a missed event, Article 12 and the Montreal Convention allow further claims in court. See what to do if an airline rejects your claim.

Frequently asked

My flight was delayed 2 hours. Do I get compensation?

Compensation depends on the delay when you reach your final destination, which must be at least three hours. A two-hour delay at departure gives you a right to care if the flight is 1500 km or less, but not compensation by itself, unless the delay at arrival reaches three hours.

The airline gave me a meal voucher. Is that enough?

Care must be "in reasonable relation to the waiting time". A voucher can be a fair way to provide a meal. If it is not enough for the time you waited, you can claim back reasonable extra expenses with receipts.

Can I claim for a taxi to the hotel?

Yes, if the airline did not provide transport between the airport and the hotel and the cost was necessary, reasonable and appropriate.

Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Articles 6, 8, 9 and 11, and recital 18.
• European Commission, Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (OJ C/2024/5687), section 4.3.

This guide is general information based on the sources above, not legal advice.

Related guides

• Flight delayed 3 hours or more: when are you owed compensation?
• Flight cancelled: the 14-day, 7-day and rerouting rules

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