EU261 Compensation Calculator 2026: Check What Your Delayed Flight Is Worth

How much you can claim — the EU261 amounts

EU261 sets compensation by flight distance, not by the length of the delay. Whether you were three hours late or twelve, the figure is the same for a given route length — provided you reached your final destination at least three hours behind schedule. UK261, the post-Brexit British equivalent, mirrors these bands in sterling.

One important exception: for long-haul flights over 3,500km delayed between three and four hours at arrival, the airline may halve the €600 figure to €300. Beyond four hours, the full amount applies. Our guide to EU261 compensation amounts works through the distance bands and edge cases in detail, and you can confirm your exact great-circle distance on Great Circle Mapper.

Who is eligible (and who isn't)

Three types of disruption trigger a potential claim: a delay of three hours or more measured at your final destination, a cancellation notified within 14 days of departure, or denied boarding because the flight was overbooked. A refund or a duty of care (meals and accommodation during a long wait) is separate from, and additional to, this cash compensation.

The jurisdictional test is where most people go wrong. EU261 applies to any flight departing an EU airport, regardless of the airline's nationality, and to flights arriving in the EU on an EU-registered carrier. So a Singapore Airlines flight from Frankfurt is covered; a Singapore Airlines flight into Frankfurt is not, but a Lufthansa flight into Frankfurt from Singapore is. UK261 applies the same logic to flights touching the United Kingdom. Flights with no EU or UK nexus — say New York to Tokyo on a US carrier — usually fall outside both, though the US DOT rules or the Montreal Convention may still provide a remedy. To document a delay for any claim, a screenshot from Flightradar24 or FlightAware showing the actual arrival time is the single most useful piece of evidence.

The "extraordinary circumstances" trap

Airlines can refuse compensation only where the disruption was caused by genuine extraordinary circumstances — severe weather, an air-traffic-control strike, political instability or a security threat. The duty of care survives even then, but the cash does not. The problem is that airlines invoke this exemption far more often than the law actually permits, and a rejection letter citing "operational reasons" or "circumstances beyond our control" is frequently a first line of defence rather than a settled legal position.

Recent European court rulings have steadily narrowed the defence — technical faults arising in normal operation generally do not qualify, and many airline staff strikes have been ruled within scope rather than outside it. That is precisely why a rejection is worth testing. If the calculator above flags your cause as potentially extraordinary, it does not mean the claim is dead; it means the airline's reasoning is the thing to challenge.

Claim direct or use a service?

The calculator tells you what you're owed; the next decision is how to collect it. For a clean claim — the airline concedes the delay and the cause is within its control — claim direct through the carrier's own EU261 form and keep 100%. Most major airlines process these competently within four to eight weeks: Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM and Iberia all have working online forms. Our step-by-step claim guide walks through the wording that produces faster settlements.

A no-win, no-fee service earns its 25–50% cut in three situations: when a direct claim has been rejected on extraordinary-circumstances grounds worth challenging; when the airline has ignored you for 30+ days; or when the case is likely to require court enforcement. Low-cost carriers — Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet — dispute more often and frequently need that escalation. For the full side-by-side of the three main services, see AirHelp vs Skycop vs Flightright.

How long you have to claim

Claims are not open-ended. The statutory time limit depends on the jurisdiction and runs from 2 to 6 years: Germany allows three years, Spain five, and the UK six, among other national limits. The clock starts on the date of the disrupted flight. That means a claim from an old delay may well still be live — worth checking before assuming it has lapsed. The rules for UK-touching flights diverged from the EU after Brexit; our EU261 vs UK261 guide covers what changed.

This calculator provides an indicative estimate based on the published EU261 (Regulation EC 261/2004) and UK261 compensation bands as of July 2026, and is not legal advice. Final eligibility and amounts depend on your specific flight, the airline's stated reason, and the jurisdiction handling the claim; VAT treatment and service fees vary. This page contains affiliate links to AirHelp, SafetyWing and TimeFlys — claims, bookings or purchases made through these links may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. Airlines, airports and regulators named without affiliate disclosure are referenced editorially only.