Bottom line up front: If your EU flight was delayed 3+ hours, cancelled, or you were denied boarding in the past 3 years, you may be entitled to €250-€600 compensation per passenger—even if the airline already gave you meal vouchers, hotel rooms, or rebooked your flight. Airlines won’t volunteer this information, and most passengers never claim what they’re legally owed.

A cancelled flight to Paris isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s potentially €600 per person that airlines hope you won’t know how to claim. EU Regulation 261/2004 creates specific, enforceable passenger rights that apply to hundreds of millions of flights annually, but fewer than 5% of eligible passengers successfully claim their compensation.

The regulation applies regardless of your nationality. If you’re flying from any EU airport, or flying to the EU on an EU airline, these rights protect you. That business trip delayed 5 hours in Frankfurt? Compensation. That budget airline that bumped you from your Barcelona flight? Compensation. That family vacation where mechanical issues cancelled your connecting flight? Compensation.

EU261 Flight Compensation Guide: How to Claim Up to €600 for Delays, Cancellations, and Denied Boarding