Diverted flight: when it counts as a cancellation and when as a delay

If your flight lands at a different airport from the one you booked, EU261 treats it like a cancellation, unless the airport serves the same town, city or region, in which case it is treated as a delay. The difference decides how your right to compensation and the transfer costs work.

Last updated: 5 October 2026.

The rule

According to the European Commission's guidelines on the case law of the EU Court of Justice, a diverted flight is treated as follows:

• Different airport, different town, city or region: cancellation. If the flight lands at an airport that does not correspond to the airport indicated as your final destination and does not serve the same town, city or region, it is treated like a cancellation (Case C-826/19, Austrian Airlines; Case C-253/21, TUIfly). You are entitled to compensation for cancellation, subject to the usual conditions.
• Different airport, same town, city or region: delay. It may be treated as a delay. The delay is then measured at the point when you actually reach the airport you booked, or another nearby destination agreed with the airline, at the end of the transfer.

A flight that is diverted and then continues is different from a flight that returns to its departure airport. In the latter case, the flight counts as cancelled (Case C-83/10, Sousa Rodríguez).

If you accept a flight to another airport

Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 covers the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports and the airline offers you a flight to a different airport from the one you booked. According to the guidelines:

• Compensation for a long delay at arrival is due. The arrival time used is the actual time you reach the airport you originally booked, or another nearby destination agreed with you.
• The airline must bear the cost of the transfer between the alternative airport and the airport you booked, on its own initiative.
• If it does not provide or offer this transport and you had to arrange it yourself, you can claim back the amounts that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable (Case C-826/19, Austrian Airlines).

What you can claim after a diversion

1. Care. Meals, hotel if needed, transport, two communications (Article 9). See meals, hotel and expenses.
2. Transfer costs to the airport you booked, if the airline did not arrange or pay for them.
3. Compensation of 250, 400 or 600 euros, as a cancellation (different region) or as a delay of three hours or more at the end of the transfer (same region).
4. Refund or rerouting if you choose (Article 8).

The airline can still avoid paying compensation if it proves that the diversion was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Examples recognised by the Court include a diversion to remove an unruly passenger or a passenger with a medical emergency, unless the airline contributed to the behaviour or ignored warning signs (Case C-74/19, Transportes Aéreos Portugueses). See what the EU Court has decided.

Frequently asked

Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Articles 5, 7, 8 and 9.
• European Commission, Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (OJ C/2024/5687), sections 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.3.3 and 4.4.9.

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

Related guides

• Flight cancelled: the 14-day, 7-day and rerouting rules
• Flight delayed 3 hours or more

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