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What to do if your flight is delayed

Compensation is decided later, but the evidence has to be collected at the airport – whether you are stuck in Frankfurt, Barcelona, Dublin, Warsaw or Manchester. This seven-step list shows you what to do on the spot so there is nothing to argue about afterwards.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 5 min How we write our guides

Check compensation or start a claim with AirHelp straight away

In short: ask for the reason in writing, keep your boarding pass, ask for care and keep the receipts, do not accept a voucher, note your arrival time – and submit your claim as soon as possible. If you arrive 3 hours or more late on a flight covered by EU261 (any flight from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, or an EU airline flying in) you may be owed €250–€600 per passenger; on a UK261 flight, £220–£520.

The seven steps

  1. Ask for the reason for the delay or cancellation in writing. At the gate or the service desk. If they will not give you anything on paper, photograph the departure board showing the time and flight number, and save the airline's app notifications and text messages.
  2. Keep your boarding pass and booking confirmation. Your booking reference (PNR) and flight number are enough to claim, but the boarding pass proves you checked in on time.
  3. Ask for care. From a 2-hour departure delay (on flights up to 1,500 km) you are entitled to meal vouchers; if you have to stay overnight, a hotel and transfers. If the airline provides nothing, spend reasonably and keep the receipts.
  4. Do not sign a waiver or accept a voucher. Compensation is due in money. Once you have accepted a voucher, it is hard to swap it for cash. If you volunteer to give up your seat on an overbooked flight, you lose the fixed compensation.
  5. Note your actual arrival time. What counts is when the doors open at your destination. Flightradar24 or the airport website can be checked later, but your own note is the simplest proof.
  6. If your flight is cancelled, choose: refund or re-routing. If you choose re-routing, ask for the earliest flight – including with another airline. Your choice does not affect your right to compensation.
  7. Submit your claim – as soon as possible. Directly with the airline, or through our partner AirHelp, which checks the flight data and any extraordinary circumstances the airline cites, and only charges a fee if it succeeds.

What to say at the desk

One sentence that helps: "Please give me the reason for the delay in writing and inform me of my rights under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004." The airline is required to hand you a written notice of your passenger rights (Article 14). If the staff cite "extraordinary circumstances", ask exactly what they mean – the answer may matter later. Under EU261 that notice must also give the contact details of the national enforcement body. On flights from the UK, the same rights apply under UK261.

What to do at home

  • Keep everything in one folder: booking, boarding pass, notifications, receipts, photos.
  • Use the calculator to see what you could be owed.
  • Submit your claim. If the airline rejects it or does not reply within 2 months (8 weeks in the UK), do not give up: many rejections are not justified. Complain to the national enforcement body or ADR body of the country where the delay happened, or for UK flights to the airline's ADR scheme or the CAA. Where to turn next · country guides: Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom.

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