The headline numbers are simple. The rules behind which one applies to you have a few more moving parts.
EU261 pays fixed compensation based on how far your flight was scheduled to travel, in three tiers: €250 for up to 1,500km, €400 for 1,500–3,500km, and €600 for anything over that — on top of any refund or rerouting you're owed, and regardless of what you paid for your ticket. UK261 mirrors the same three-tier structure in pounds sterling. The amount can be halved if you were rerouted and still arrived reasonably close to your original arrival time, and distance is measured as a straight line between airports, not your actual flight path.
| Flight distance | EU261 (EU) | UK261 (UK, indicative) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 | £220* |
| 1,500–3,500 km | €400 | £350* |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 | £520* |
*UK261 amounts shown are indicative — always confirm current published figures against CAA guidance before relying on a specific number.
The tiers only come into play once one of the underlying triggers is met:
No trigger, no compensation — being merely inconvenienced by, say, a 90-minute delay doesn't reach the threshold on its own.
Distance is calculated using the great-circle method — essentially the most direct path between the departure and arrival airports — not the distance your specific aircraft actually flew, which can be longer due to routing, weather diversions, or airspace restrictions. So a flight advertised as "long-haul" that happens to be just over 3,500km on the direct path falls into the top tier even if the plane's actual track was a bit different.
Airlines are allowed to reduce compensation by 50% if two things are both true: you were rerouted to your final destination, and the rerouted flight still got you there within a set window of your original scheduled arrival time. That window scales with distance — roughly two hours for the shortest band, up to about three to four hours for the longest — so a rerouted passenger who arrives only slightly late gets a reduced payout rather than the full amount. If the delay on arrival still exceeds that window, the reduction doesn't apply and the full amount is owed.
Distance is measured using the great-circle method — the most direct path between the two airports — regardless of the actual route flown, any layovers, or detours.
Yes, by up to 50% if you were rerouted and still arrived at your final destination within a set window of your original arrival time, generally between two and four hours depending on the flight's distance band.
Per passenger. Each eligible passenger on the booking is entitled to the full amount for their own ticket, not a single shared amount split across everyone traveling together.
Yes. Compensation for the delay, cancellation, or denied boarding is separate from — and in addition to — any refund or rerouting you're entitled to for the ticket itself.
Enter your route and we'll work out which band your flight falls into.