Enter your route and what happened to see whether EU261 or UK261 covers your flight and how much fixed compensation the rules set per passenger. It runs in your browser: nothing you type is sent or stored.
How the calculator works
It follows Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, which sets a fixed payment per passenger according to the flight distance, and the UK's retained version of the same rule (UK261). The ticket price and travel class make no difference to the amount.
- Coverage. EU261 covers every flight departing from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, and flights arriving there on an EU, EEA or Swiss airline. UK261 covers every flight departing from the UK, and flights arriving in the UK on a UK or EU airline. Some journeys fall under both; you can only be paid once for the same disruption.
- Distance. The great-circle distance between your departure airport and your final destination, measured on a sphere with the Earth's mean radius (6,371 km). Coordinates are rounded to about 1 km, so a result close to a 1,500 km or 3,500 km boundary is flagged.
- Delay. What counts is how late you reached your final destination. The European Court of Justice ruled in Sturgeon (2009) that arriving 3 hours or more late is treated like a cancellation for compensation.
- Cause. No fixed compensation is owed when extraordinary circumstances the airline could not have avoided caused the disruption.
Compensation amounts by distance
| Flight distance | EU261 | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| 1,500 km or less | €250 | £220 |
| 1,500–3,500 km, or any flight within the EU/EEA over 1,500 km | €400 | £350 |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 (may be €300 if you arrived 3–4 hours late) | £520 (may be £260 if 3–4 hours late) |
Amounts are per passenger, including children with their own seat. For cancellations and denied boarding, the airline may halve the payment if your replacement flight got you to your destination within 2, 3 or 4 hours of the original arrival (by distance band).
Worked examples
London Heathrow to New York JFK on a UK airline, 4 h 10 min late because of a technical fault. The flight departs the UK, so UK261 applies. EU261 does not, because the flight neither leaves nor enters the EU. The distance is about 5,541 km, which is over 3,500 km, and the arrival delay is over 4 hours, so the amount is £520 per passenger. If the same flight had arrived 3 h 30 min late, the airline could pay £260.
Edinburgh to Berlin on a UK airline, 3 h 20 min late, crew shortage. UK261 applies because the flight left the UK. The distance is about 1,165 km, under 1,500 km, so the amount is £220 per passenger. Some websites list this route at over 1,500 km; the great-circle distance is well under it.
What this calculator can't decide
- Whether a cause really was extraordinary. Courts have held that most technical faults and airline staff strikes are not, but each case turns on its facts.
- Separate tickets. If you booked the connecting flights separately, each flight is assessed on its own.
- Exclusions such as free or staff tickets not available to the public, flights from Gibraltar, or not checking in on time.
- Claim deadlines, which currently depend on the country where you claim. In the UK it is generally six years (five in Scotland).
- The reformed EU rules adopted in 2026. They keep the 3-hour threshold and the €250/€400/€600 amounts and are expected to apply from the second half of 2027; until then the current rules apply.
This is a general estimate based on the published rules, not legal advice. Refunds, meals, hotels and rerouting are separate rights, and they apply even when fixed compensation does not.
Next step: if the result says you're owed compensation, use the step-by-step claim process and email template in our flight delay compensation guide. If it's about a missed connection, our layover survival guide covers how much buffer to book next time.
Common questions
Does the 3-hour delay count from departure or arrival?
From arrival at your final destination. A flight that leaves 3 hours late but makes up time in the air and lands 2 h 50 min late does not qualify. A short first-leg delay that makes you miss a connection on the same booking can qualify if you end up 3 hours or more late.
Do I get more if my ticket was expensive?
No. The amount depends only on the distance and, for long flights, on whether you arrived more or less than 4 hours late. Your fare refund, if you didn't travel, is separate.
My flight was from the US to Europe on an American airline. Am I covered?
Not by EU261 or UK261. Flights into the EU or UK are only covered when the operating airline is an EU (or, for UK261, UK or EU) airline. The flight home from Europe is covered whichever airline you fly.