Flight delay rights: meals, hotels and care

When does the right to care start?

Article 6(1) links care to the delay to departure that the airline "reasonably expects" – so it starts when the delay is announced, not once it has actually happened. The thresholds depend on the great-circle distance of the flight:

The same care is owed when your flight is cancelled and you are waiting for a replacement (Article 5(1)(b)), and when you are denied boarding (Article 4(3)). On a connecting journey booked as one unit, the CAA says thresholds are based on the distance between the first and last airports.

What the airline must provide

Article 9 lists the care, free of charge:

The airline must pay particular attention to people with reduced mobility, their companions, and unaccompanied children (Article 9(3) and Article 11). The airline should also hand you a written notice of your rights when a flight is delayed by at least two hours (Article 14(2)).

Care is owed even in extraordinary circumstances

This is the biggest difference from compensation. An airline that can blame a storm, an air traffic control strike or an airport closure may escape the fixed payment, but not the duty of care. The CAA says care is owed "regardless of cause".

In McDonagh v Ryanair (C-12/11, 31 January 2013) a passenger was stranded for a week by the 2010 Icelandic ash cloud. The Court of Justice ruled that the duty of care has no time or cost limit, even in exceptional events. The passenger can recover expenses that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable to make up for the airline's failure. See our guide to extraordinary circumstances.

Delayed 5 hours or more: refund and return flight

Once the delay reaches 5 hours, whatever the distance, you can choose not to travel and claim the Article 8(1)(a) remedy (Article 6(1)(iii)):

• a refund within 7 days of the full ticket price for the parts not flown, and for parts already flown if the trip no longer serves any purpose; and
• if you are part-way through the journey, a return flight to your first point of departure at the earliest opportunity.

Think before you choose this. The CAA warns not to take it if you still want to travel. Once you take the refund, the airline's duty of care for the cancelled journey ends, and you are unlikely to get delay compensation as well, because you never arrived late. See flight refund rights.

If the airline did not provide care

Airlines often run out of vouchers, close desks overnight, or tell everyone to "book a hotel and claim later". You can then arrange reasonable care yourself and claim the cost back:

1. Ask first. Go to the airline's desk or use its app or chat. Keep proof that you asked – a screenshot, the time, the staff member's name.
2. Buy what is reasonable – see the next section.
3. Keep itemised receipts, not just card slips, and the matching bank or card statements.
4. Claim from the operating airline after the trip – most have an "expenses" or "disruption" form, separate from compensation.

What counts as "reasonable"?

The regulation gives no figures. The CAA says alcohol, luxury hotels and luxury meals are unlikely to be reimbursed. A sensible test is what the airline itself would have provided:

• Food: normal meals at airport prices for the time you are waiting. Soft drinks, not alcohol.
• Hotel: a standard hotel near the airport, not a suite in the city centre. Ask the airline desk which hotels it uses, and photograph availability if they are full.
• Transport: the hotel shuttle, public transport or a taxi when nothing else runs.
• Communication: roaming or call charges where they are significant.

Courts look at what was necessary and appropriate at the time (McDonagh). A €15 or £15 airport breakfast is reasonable. A €100 dinner with wine is not.

How to claim your care costs

1. Send the airline a list of the expenses with a copy of each receipt, the flight details and a short account of what happened. Keep the originals.
2. Point out that the costs were incurred because care under Article 9 was not provided, and that they were necessary and reasonable.
3. If the airline refuses or does not answer (2 months in the EU, 8 weeks in the UK), escalate. EU261 flights: the national enforcement body or ADR body of the country where the delay happened (for example Germany, Spain, Italy or Greece), then a national court or the European Small Claims Procedure. UK261 flights: an ADR scheme or the CAA, then small claims.

Our complaint letter generator can include expenses alongside compensation. For other losses caused by the delay – a missed non-refundable hotel night, for example – see the Montreal Convention. Travel insurance may also pay a fixed delay benefit; check your policy.

Care vs compensation: two separate claims

The CAA notes that expenses and compensation may need separate claims. If your flight did arrive 3+ hours late, read flight delay compensation or use the checker:

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a free meal if my flight is delayed?

Yes, once the expected delay to departure reaches 2 hours (flights up to 1,500 km), 3 hours (1,500–3,500 km) or 4 hours (over 3,500 km). The airline must offer meals and refreshments "in a reasonable relation to the waiting time" (Article 9(1)(a)). This applies whatever caused the delay.

Do airlines have to give you a voucher for delayed flights?

They have to provide food and drink. A meal voucher is the usual way they do it, but the law does not require a voucher as such. If you get no voucher and no food, buy something reasonable, keep the receipt and claim the cost back.

How do flight meal vouchers work?

The airline gives you a voucher – on paper, by text or in its app – for a set amount at airport outlets, usually valid for a limited time. Amounts and rules are set by the airline. If the voucher clearly does not cover a reasonable meal for the length of the wait, keep receipts for what you spend on top and ask for the difference.

Am I entitled to anything if my flight is delayed 2 hours?

On a flight of up to 1,500 km – for example Paris–Barcelona, Amsterdam–Madrid, London–Paris or Manchester–Dublin – yes: food and drink and two calls or emails. On longer flights, care starts at 3 or 4 hours. Fixed compensation needs an arrival delay of 3 hours or more.

Is it okay to go to the airport at the normal time if my flight is delayed?

The safest course is to check in by the original deadline unless the airline has told you in writing that check-in has moved. Your rights depend on checking in on time (Article 3(2)), and delayed flights can be brought forward again if the problem is fixed.

Do I still get care if the delay was caused by bad weather or a strike?

Yes. Care is owed whatever the cause. In McDonagh v Ryanair (C-12/11) the Court of Justice held that the duty continued during the 2010 volcanic ash closures, with no time or cost limit, as long as the costs are necessary, appropriate and reasonable.

Related guides

• What to do if your flight is delayed
• Flight delay compensation
• Flight refund rights
• Cancelled flight compensation
• Delayed baggage compensation
• Where to complain in each European country

This guide is general information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers and we are not AirHelp; we receive a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links succeeds. See our affiliate disclosure.

Sources

1. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EU261), Articles 6, 8 and 9 – EUR-Lex
2. UK261, Article 6 (delay) – legislation.gov.uk
3. UK261, Article 9 (right to care) – legislation.gov.uk
4. UK261, Article 8 (reimbursement or re-routing) – legislation.gov.uk
5. Flight delays – your rights (while you wait for your flight) – UK Civil Aviation Authority
6. If your flight’s delayed or cancelled – Citizens Advice
7. Air passenger rights: assistance – Your Europe (European Commission)
8. Stuck at the airport? Your rights – MoneySavingExpert
9. McDonagh v Ryanair, C-12/11, judgment of 31 January 2013 – Court of Justice of the EU
10. Air passenger travel guide: summary of passenger rights – GOV.UK (Department for Transport)

We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.