EU Flight Compensation Calculator

How to Use the EU Flight Compensation Calculator

Estimate EU261 eligibility and Article 7 compensation from a flight date, airports, operating carrier, and disruption details. The result is informational only.

1. Choose the flight date so the engine can apply the EU261 rule set in force on that date.
2. Search and select departure and final destination airports (IATA, name, and country) from the compact OurAirports public-domain subset.
3. Select the operating airline that flew the aircraft, or Unknown / not listed — the list is not complete. Do not use a marketing or codeshare brand as a substitute. For flights from outside into the EU, answer where the operating airline is licensed if asked.
4. Choose how the ticket was obtained: a paid public fare, frequent-flyer miles, a free or staff ticket, or Not sure.
5. Choose delay, cancellation, or denied boarding, then complete only the follow-up fields for that disruption.
6. Tick “The airline blamed extraordinary circumstances” only if the airline gave that reason.
7. Review Likely eligible, Likely not eligible, or Uncertain, the per-passenger amount if any, the reasons, what is still missing, and the next steps.

Methodology & EC 261/2004 distance tiers

Statutory compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 Article 7 is determined by flight distance computed using the spherical Haversine formula between the departure airport and the final scheduled destination airport coordinates.

Tiers: - Flights up to 1,500 km: €250 compensation. - Intra-Community flights over 1,500 km, and all other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km: €400 compensation. - Other flights over 3,500 km: €600 compensation, or €300 when the arrival delay is at least 3 but less than 4 hours.

Worked flight compensation scenario example

• Flight itinerary: Rome Fiumicino (FCO) to Dubai International (DXB).
• Operating carrier: Emirates (non-Community carrier departing from an EU Member State).
• Disruption: Arrival delayed by 4 hours and 30 minutes due to technical aircraft fault (not extraordinary circumstances).
• Great-circle distance: 4,320 km (> 3,500 km extra-Community).
• Statutory entitlement: €600 per passenger under Article 7(1)(c), plus right to meals and refreshments under Article 9.

Why date, carrier, and airport distance matter

The flight date selects the versioned EU261 rule set (2005-v1 from 17 February 2005). Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amends EU261 from 23 October 2027; flights from that date return Uncertain until the amended rules are modelled.

EU261 looks at the operating carrier. For flights departing the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland any airline is covered. For flights from outside into the EU the operating airline must be licensed in the EU, Norway or Iceland; a codeshare brand alone, an unknown licence or a Swiss airline returns Uncertain.

Flights between Switzerland and the EU/EEA are covered under the EU–Swiss air transport agreement. Swiss domestic flights and flights between Switzerland and other countries are disputed and return Uncertain. Free tickets and private rates not available to the public are excluded (Article 3(3)); frequent-flyer award tickets are covered.

Compensation bands use great-circle distance between the selected airports, not city centres. Some connecting itineraries stay Uncertain unless you confirm first-departure-to-final-destination measurement.

Limitations, extraordinary circumstances, and privacy

Extraordinary circumstances are not an automatic denial: the airline must prove them. When the facts would otherwise qualify, the result is Uncertain and still shows the possible amount. Care or assistance may still apply and is never added to the euro amount. Assessment runs in your browser. Airport coverage is a compact OurAirports public-domain passenger-airport subset, not an official ICAO dataset.

• This is not legal advice or an official EU or airline decision.
• UK261 is not available in this calculator.
• Do not enter passenger names or booking references — they are not required.

FAQ

What is EU261 compensation?

EU Regulation 261/2004 can require the operating airline to pay a fixed Article 7 amount per passenger (€250, €400, or €600, sometimes reduced by 50%) after a long arrival delay, a late cancellation, or involuntary denied boarding when the territorial rules are met. This calculator estimates that amount from the facts you enter. It is not an official decision and not a promise of payment.

How is distance calculated?

Distance is a great-circle measurement between the selected departure airport and final destination using airport coordinates from the compact OurAirports subset. It is not measured from city centres. Article 7 bands are up to 1500 km (€250), 1500–3500 km or intra-Community over 1500 km (€400), and over 3500 km (€600).

Does the operating airline matter?

Yes. EU261 looks at the airline that operated the flight, not the brand that sold the ticket. For flights departing from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland any airline is covered, so the airline list does not affect the result and Unknown / not listed is fine. For flights from outside into the EU it matters where the operating airline is licensed. The airline list is not complete, and some brands (such as easyJet and Ryanair) fly under several licences; in those cases, or if you only know the ticket seller, the calculator asks where the operating airline is licensed and returns Uncertain if you are not sure.

What if my flight departed outside the EU?

A flight from outside the EU, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland is covered only when it lands in the EU (or Norway or Iceland) and the operating airline is licensed in the EU, Norway or Iceland. Landing in Europe alone is not enough: flights from the UK, Turkey or Serbia with a non-EU airline are not covered. Flights between Switzerland and the EU/EEA are covered under the EU–Swiss air transport agreement; Swiss domestic flights, flights between Switzerland and other countries, and Swiss airlines flying into the EU from outside are disputed, so the calculator returns Uncertain for them.

What if I had a connecting flight?

Multi-leg itineraries stay Uncertain unless you confirm that all flights were on one booking, so distance and delay are measured from the first departure to the final destination. Journeys that start outside the EU also stay Uncertain, because each flight is then assessed separately by its own operating airline, which the calculator does not collect.

What counts as a qualifying delay?

An arrival delay at the final destination of at least 3 hours (180 minutes, not rounded up), following the CJEU Sturgeon ruling and Commission guidance. Arrival time is when at least one aircraft door opens (CJEU C-452/13). On flights over 3,500 km that are not within the EU, a delay of at least 3 but less than 4 hours lets the airline reduce the amount by 50% (to €300); 4 hours or more gives €600. Care rights are assessed separately.

Can cancellations qualify?

Yes, when notice is under 14 days and any replacement flight falls outside the Article 5(1)(c) time windows (for 7 to under 14 days notice: leaving no more than 2 hours earlier and arriving less than 4 hours later; under 7 days: no more than 1 hour earlier and less than 2 hours later). Notice of 14 days or more means no Article 7 compensation. If a replacement flight arrives within 2, 3 or 4 hours of the original time (by distance), the airline may reduce the amount by 50%. Refund or re-routing rights remain separate from the euro amount.

What if the airline claims extraordinary circumstances?

It is not an automatic refusal: the airline must prove the circumstances and that they could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. If your facts would otherwise qualify, the calculator returns Uncertain and still shows the possible amount if that defence fails. If the facts would not qualify anyway (for example a delay under 3 hours), it says so. This defence does not apply to involuntary denied boarding. Care or assistance rights may still apply.

Why does the calculator return Uncertain?

Uncertain means the supplied facts are not enough for a modelled determination — for example an unknown operating airline or licence on a flight into the EU, a codeshare-only brand, a connection, a disputed Swiss route or another ambiguous territory, an unknown ticket type, incomplete cancellation re-routing times, asserted extraordinary circumstances, or a flight date from 23 October 2027 when amended rules apply. The result lists, in plain language, what would be needed to be sure.

Are free, staff or frequent-flyer tickets covered?

Article 3(3) excludes passengers travelling free of charge or on a reduced fare not available directly or indirectly to the public, such as airline staff or industry rates, and infants who travel free without their own seat. Tickets bought with frequent-flyer miles or through another airline or tour-operator programme are covered, as are ordinary public discounts such as sales, promo codes and child fares. A €0 fare where you still paid taxes and charges counts as a paid ticket. If you are not sure how the ticket was obtained, the calculator returns Uncertain.

Is this legal advice?

No. The result is an informational estimate based on a versioned EU261 rule set and the facts you typed. It is not legal advice, not an official EU or airline decision, and not a guarantee of payment. An airline or enforcement body may reach a different conclusion.