Cancelled Flight Compensation
For flight cancellations with less than 14 days’ notice, you may receive up to €600 per person (minus our fee) under the EU 261 Regulation.
- Check your eligibility in just 2 minutes.
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Am I Eligible for Flight Cancellation Compensation?
Airlines rarely explain your rights clearly when a flight gets cancelled. Eligibility under EU Regulation 261/2004 is determined by four factors, not by the airline’s own assessment of whether you deserve to be paid.
The Basic Eligibility Checklist
To qualify for compensation, your situation must meet all of the following:
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01
Less Than 14 Days’ Notice
The cancellation must have been communicated to you fewer than 14 days before the scheduled departure date. If you received notice 14 days or more in advance, financial compensation does not apply, though your right to a full refund or rebooking remains intact.
Expert noteIf the airline rescheduled your flight to depart more than one hour earlier than the original time without at least 14 days’ notice, this is treated as a cancellation under EU law, not a rescheduling — and the same compensation entitlements apply.
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02
Qualifying Route
- Any flight departing from an EU airport, on any airline, including international (EU or non-EU) air carriers such as American Airlines, United Airlines, Emirates, Delta, or Lufthansa.
- Any flight arriving at an EU airport from a non-EU country, operated by an EU-regulated airline — such as Lufthansa, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Eurowings, or Air France.
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03
Airline Responsibility
Compensation is only owed if the cancellation was within the airline’s control. Cancellations caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as severe weather or air traffic control strikes, are exempt from financial compensation.
However, airlines frequently misclassify controllable cancellations as extraordinary circumstances. ClaimFlights independently verifies the actual cause using weather records, ATC data, crew scheduling logs, and engineering reports.
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04
Confirmed Booking and Check-In
You must have had a confirmed reservation and checked in on time for the original flight.
How Much Compensation Can You Claim for a Cancelled Flight?
Compensation under EU261 is fixed by law and calculated on the basis of flight distance, not the price of your ticket. A passenger who paid €50 for a budget seat is entitled to exactly the same compensation as one who paid €500 for the same route.
Compensation by Route Distance
If Lufthansa cancels your Frankfurt to New York flight the evening before departure and offers no acceptable alternative, every passenger on that booking is entitled to €600, regardless of what they paid for their ticket.
Key Facts About the Compensation Amount
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Direct distance, not miles flown
The amount is based on the straight-line (great circle) distance between departure and arrival airports, not the actual flight path.
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Per passenger
Every passenger on the booking with a confirmed reservation is individually entitled to compensation, not a single payment per booking.
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Cash is mandatory
Airlines are legally required to pay in cash, bank transfer, or cheque. If airline staff offer a travel voucher at the desk, you are under no obligation to accept it. Accepting a voucher may waive your right to the full statutory cash amount. Read any document carefully before signing.
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Reduction clause
If the airline offered an alternative flight and that flight arrived within a defined time window of the original, the airline may reduce compensation by up to 50%. If no acceptable alternative was offered, the full amount applies.
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The amounts are fixed
No claim service can recover more than €250, €400, or €600 per passenger. The law sets the ceiling. If anyone suggests otherwise, that is false.
