Delayed flight: when can I claim compensation?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
Arriving at your final destination at least three hours late may qualify for EU compensation. This differs from care while waiting and reimbursement of an unused ticket. First check the route, operating airline, arrival time and cause; not every delay automatically means €600.
On this page
- Check the route and applicable rules
- Record the actual arrival delay
- Identify the compensation category
- Request care while waiting
- Check the cause and any ticket refund
- Submit an evidenced claim to the airline
- Choose the next step and protect deadlines
- Does bad weather mean I receive nothing?
- Documents to prepare
- Sources
1. Check the route and applicable rules
This covers EU261 for departures from the Netherlands or another EU country, and arrivals from outside the EU operated by an EU airline. Identify the operator, not merely the booking platform; assess outward and return flights separately. A single reservation matters for connections. Other countries may have additional or different rules; the same loss cannot be recovered twice. The EU reform adopted in July 2026 is not yet applicable on the review date: do not prematurely use its future claim deadlines or new self-rerouting rules.
EU · Actuele rechten van vliegtuigpassagiers ↗
EU-Verordening 261/2004 · Artikelen 3, 6, 7, 8 en 9 ↗
2. Record the actual arrival delay
Keep the booking, boarding pass, original arrival time, messages and actual final-arrival evidence. Arrival is when at least one aircraft door opens and passengers may leave, not touchdown. For connections on one booking, the delay at the final destination can matter. Being late at the gate yourself or delayed by security does not automatically give an airline compensation claim. Record dates and time zones alongside all times.
3. Identify the compensation category
For a qualifying arrival delay of at least three hours, compensation per passenger is €250 for up to 1,500 km; €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights over 1,500 up to 3,500 km. For remaining flights over 3,500 km it is €300 for three to less than four hours, and €600 from four hours. Ticket price is not the basis. Rerouting can involve separate fifty-per-cent reduction rules; obtain advice for borderline or changed-route cases.
4. Request care while waiting
Departure-delay care begins at two hours for flights up to 1,500 km, three hours for longer intra-EU flights and other flights up to 3,500 km, and four hours for remaining flights. Request appropriate meals, refreshments and two communications, plus a hotel and transport if an overnight wait until the next day is necessary. Ask the airline first. If it fails to help, retain receipts for necessary, reasonable expenses. Care may remain due even when extraordinary circumstances exclude compensation.
5. Check the cause and any ticket refund
Request a specific written cause. The airline must substantiate extraordinary circumstances and why the delay remained unavoidable despite reasonable measures. Severe weather or air-traffic-control decisions may qualify; many ordinary technical defects and internal staff strikes do not. An ‘operational’ label does not settle the question. At five hours’ departure delay you may choose not to continue and request the applicable ticket refund and, where necessary, a return flight. Continuing to fly does not itself entitle you to a full ticket refund because of the departure delay.
EU · Actuele rechten van vliegtuigpassagiers ↗
6. Submit an evidenced claim to the airline
Claim first against the operating airline, preferably through its complaint form. Use the draft as preparation and attach relevant copies. Separate fixed compensation, receipted care expenses and any ticket refund; do not count costs twice. Keep acknowledgment and the reference number. A paid claims company is not required. Check its fees and any assignment of your claim before agreeing. You need not accept a compensation voucher without consent.
7. Choose the next step and protect deadlines
ILT states that the airline should reply within two months. If unresolved, a regulatory report may be possible under its conditions; Dutch ILT reports require a flight less than one year ago and exclude package-travel cases. ILT does not collect individual compensation or issue an individual ruling. Payment may require further legal help or a competent court. National court deadlines vary: have older flights assessed promptly and do not confuse complaining with protecting court rights. A package organiser may also have responsibilities, without double recovery. Use our own help-request route.
EU · Actuele rechten van vliegtuigpassagiers ↗
Draft delayed-flight claim
Complete the facts and applicable amounts; remove irrelevant parts. Use the operator’s complaint form where available and submit yourself. Keep proof. This draft does not automatically preserve a court deadline.
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Does bad weather mean I receive nothing?
Not necessarily. Proven extraordinary circumstances may exclude fixed compensation, but care and any applicable ticket refund are separate rights. Ask for evidence and keep reasonable care receipts. An ILT report is not an individual collection procedure.
Documents to prepare
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- Flight date, route and operating airline
- Booking and any connections on one reservation
- Scheduled and actual arrival with time zones
- Distance category and evidenced cause
- Care requests, receipts and separate amounts
- Claim proof, reply and applicable next deadline
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Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
EU · Actuele rechten van vliegtuigpassagiers ↗EU-Verordening 261/2004 · Artikelen 3, 6, 7, 8 en 9 ↗Hof van Justitie · Werkelijke aankomsttijd ↗ILT · Vertraging, klachten en toezicht ↗Rijksoverheid · Rechten bij vluchtproblemen ↗Europese Commissie · Bestaande en toekomstige regels ↗Raad van de EU · Toekomstige toepassing herziening ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.