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After more than a decade of negotiation, the EU has adopted a regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. The compensation amounts stay at 250, 400 and 600 euros, and the delay threshold stays at three hours. What changes is the procedure: a nine-month deadline to request compensation, a 30-day deadline for the airline to answer, a fixed list of extraordinary circumstances, and tighter rules on vouchers and rerouting. The new rules apply twelve months after they enter into force. Until then, today's rules apply.
Last updated: 5 October 2026.
The text was approved by the Conciliation Committee on 15 June 2026, approved by the European Parliament on 7 July 2026 and signed on 16 September 2026 (text PE-CONS 39/2/26 REV 2, which is the document this guide is based on). The Regulation enters into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU, and applies from twelve months after that entry into force (Article 3 of the amending Regulation).
We have not yet confirmed the publication date, so we cannot give you the exact date from which the new rules apply. Until they apply, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it stands, and the case law of the EU Court, remain in force. If your flight is delayed or cancelled today, today's rules govern it. See our EU261 guide.
| Topic | Today | Under the new Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to claim | None in EU261. National limitation periods apply. | The request for compensation must be submitted to the airline within nine months of the actual date of departure on the ticket (Article 7(9)). |
| Airline's answer | No deadline set in the Regulation. The Commission recommends two months. | The airline must acknowledge the request immediately and, within 30 calendar days, pay or give a justification for not paying (Article 7(9)). |
| Telling you about your rights | A notice for delays of at least two hours, and for denied boarding and cancellations. | Within 96 hours of the end of the journey, the airline must send you, electronically on a durable medium, information on your right to compensation and instructions on how to request it (Article 7(4)). |
| Extraordinary circumstances | Defined by the Court's case law. | A non-exhaustive list in an Annex, a requirement of a direct causal link, and the burden of proof on the airline (Article 6c). |
| Cancellation notice | No compensation if told two weeks ahead, or with rerouting within set windows (14 days, 7 days). | No compensation if told at least 14 calendar days ahead, or told later and offered rerouting that departs no more than one hour before and arrives less than two hours after the original times (Article 5(5)). |
| Paying compensation | Cash or bank transfer, or vouchers with signed agreement. | Electronic bank transfer by default. Other means only if the passenger explicitly agreed on a durable medium, and the airline must prove when and how (Article 7(7)-(8)). |
| Vouchers | Signed agreement; the Court requires free and informed consent. | Explicit consent on a durable medium; no pre-selected options; a voucher is valid for a maximum of 12 months (extendable once for 12 more by agreement), usable in full or part, and any unused balance must be reimbursed within seven days (Article 8a). |
| Assistance | Meals and refreshments "in reasonable relation to waiting time", hotel when needed. | Refreshments every two hours, a meal after three hours and every five hours after that, internet access and two calls, hotel and transport if overnight. In extraordinary circumstances the airline may limit hotel stays to a maximum of three nights (Article 9). |
| Reimbursing your own expenses | Claim back necessary, reasonable and appropriate expenses. | Reimbursement within 14 calendar days of the request, for expenses necessary, reasonable and proportionate (Article 9(4)). |
| Rerouting | Airline offers rerouting at the earliest opportunity. You may claim the cost of your own if it failed. | If the airline has not offered rerouting within three hours, you may arrange your own, and the airline must reimburse up to 400% of the ticket price within 14 days (Article 8(3)). |
| Missed connections | Developed by case law. | The airline of the preceding flight must reroute you and provide assistance. If it cannot reroute within five hours, you are offered a refund. Compensation applies if you reach your final destination with a delay exceeding three hours (Article 6b). |
| No-show on outbound flight | Not settled in the Regulation. | Passengers cannot be denied boarding or charged a fee on the inbound journey because they did not take the outbound journey under the same contract (Article 4(5)). |
| Tarmac delays | Not covered. | After two hours of tarmac delay at an EU airport with commercial traffic, passengers must be allowed to disembark, subject to limited exceptions (Article 6a). |
| Downgrading | Refund within seven days. | Automatic refund within 14 calendar days, with the same percentages (30%, 50%, 75%). Ancillary services such as seat selection or catering are excluded (Article 10). |
The Annex to the new Regulation lists events that "shall be considered as extraordinary", and the list is non-exhaustive. It includes, among others:
It follows the Court's existing case law closely. A strike by the airline's own staff over pay is not on the list. Airlines must still show a direct causal link to the disruption and that they took all reasonable measures. When an airline invokes an extraordinary circumstance, it must say which one and give a clear, substantiated explanation (Articles 6c and 7(9)). The Commission will review the list every five years. Compare with what the Court has decided so far.
Under Article 7(2), on journeys over 3,500 km the airline may reduce the 600 euros by 50% if you reach your final destination within four hours of the scheduled arrival time, whether after rerouting or after a delay. Article 7(3) adds reductions of 50% or 25% where, after a cancellation, the rerouted flight leaves earlier than the original, depending on how much earlier.
We will update our guides when the rules start to apply, and when we can confirm details we do not yet have, such as the exact date and which flights are covered.
No. Article 7(1) of the new text keeps 250, 400 and 600 euros. The 50% reductions that already exist in case law are written into Article 7(2) for journeys over 3,500 km when you arrive within four hours of the scheduled time.
No. The final text keeps the three-hour threshold: compensation is due for a delay at arrival exceeding three hours.
No. Today's rules apply to flights now, and you can claim under them.
Under Article 7(9) of the new text, a passenger submits the request for compensation to the airline within nine months of the actual departure date on the ticket. The airline then has 30 calendar days to pay or justify. It applies only from the date the new Regulation applies.
This guide describes the text signed on 16 September 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Publication details and application dates may change our description; the Official Journal text is the authoritative version.
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