Flight cancelled: refund, rerouting or rebooking, and what "comparable conditions" means

When an airline cancels your flight or denies you boarding, it must offer you a choice between three options: a full refund, rerouting to your destination as soon as possible, or rerouting later at a date that suits you. You do not have to chase the airline for these options, and if it fails to provide a suitable alternative, it can be made to pay for the one you find yourself. This is separate from compensation.

Last updated: 5 October 2026.

The three options

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 says that you must be offered the choice between:

Reimbursement within seven days of the full cost of the ticket, at the price at which it was bought, for the parts of the journey not made, and for the parts already made if the flight no longer serves any purpose for your original travel plan. For a journey with connections this comes with a return flight to your first point of departure at the earliest opportunity.
Rerouting, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity.
Rerouting at a later date that suits you, under comparable transport conditions, subject to seat availability.

The European Commission's guidelines add that the airline must offer the choice between reimbursement and rerouting at the same time, and must give you comprehensive information about all the options. You are under no obligation to look for that information yourself (Case C-354/18, Rusu). The choice is made once: when you choose one option, the airline has no further obligations linked to the other two. But the obligation to pay compensation may still apply.

What "reimbursement" includes

The price you actually paid. The ticket price includes any commission taken by an intermediary, unless the commission was set without the airline's knowledge (Case C-601/17, Harms).
Booking through a third party. If you booked through a booking platform, it is the airline that must offer the assistance, such as reimbursement of the ticket at the price you paid (Case C-601/17, Harms).
Cash first. Reimbursement is made primarily in money. A travel voucher needs your free and informed agreement (Case C-76/23, Cobult). See voucher or cash.
Separate bookings. If you booked the outbound and return flights separately and the outbound flight is cancelled, you are reimbursed for that flight only. If both flights are in the same contract, even with different airlines, you should be offered either a refund of the whole ticket or rerouting for the outbound flight.

What "comparable transport conditions" means

Whether conditions are comparable is decided case by case. The Commission recommends these good practices:

If possible, you should not be moved to a lower class than your reservation. If you are, the downgrading rules apply (see downgrading).
Rerouting should be at no extra cost to you, even if it is with another airline, by another mode of transport, in a higher class or at a higher fare.
Reasonable efforts should be made to avoid additional connections.
When another airline or mode of transport is used, the total travel time should be as close as reasonably possible to the original, in the same class or a higher one if necessary.
If several flights with comparable timings are available, you should accept the airline's rerouting offer, including on airlines that cooperate with it.
If you booked assistance for a disability or reduced mobility, it should also be available on the alternative route.

If the airline does not offer a proper alternative

You may be reimbursed for a flight you buy yourself. If the airline does not offer rerouting or a return flight under comparable conditions at the earliest opportunity, it must reimburse the costs of an alternative flight to your final destination or a return flight that you paid for. The airline carries the burden of proving that rerouting was offered at the earliest opportunity (Case C-354/18, Rusu).
If it decides unilaterally to refund without offering the choice, you are entitled to a further reimbursement of the price difference with a new ticket under comparable conditions.
The airline must use all its resources. To be excused from compensation, the airline must seek reasonable, satisfactory and timely rerouting, including on other airlines, whether or not in the same alliance. It can only put you on its own next flight if there are no seats available on another flight that gets you there earlier, or if rerouting would be an intolerable sacrifice for it (Case C-74/19, Transportes Aéreos Portugueses).
If you made your own arrangements after the airline contacted you. If the airline shows that it contacted you (where you gave contact details) and sought to provide the assistance required, but you made your own arrangements anyway, it may refuse to reimburse the extra costs.

If the replacement flight is also late or cancelled

If the flight you accepted under Article 8(1)(b) or (c) is itself cancelled or arrives three hours or more late, you have a new right to compensation (Case C-832/18, Finnair).

Refund or rerouting and compensation are separate

Refund and rerouting are about your ticket and your journey. Compensation (250, 400 or 600 euros) is a separate payment for the inconvenience of a late-notified cancellation. You can choose a refund and still claim compensation, subject to the conditions in the 14-day, 7-day and rerouting rules.

Care while you wait (meals, hotel, transport) lasts as long as you are waiting for rerouting at the earliest opportunity, and ends if you choose to be rerouted at a later date. See meals, hotel and expenses.

Frequently asked

The airline gave me a refund without asking me. Can I still get rerouted?

If the airline decided unilaterally to refund you, instead of offering the choice, you are entitled to a further reimbursement of the price difference with the new ticket you bought under comparable conditions.

Can I buy my own ticket and charge the airline?

Only in the case that the airline did not offer rerouting or a return under comparable conditions at the earliest opportunity. Then it must reimburse what you paid for the alternative flight. It is best to ask the airline first and keep proof of what it offered.

How fast must the refund be paid?

Within seven days, by the means in Article 7(3): cash or bank transfer, or vouchers only with your signed agreement.

Sources

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Articles 5, 7 and 8.
European Commission, Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (OJ C/2024/5687), section 4.2.

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

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