EU261 changes from 23 October 2027
The EU has amended EU261, its air passenger rights law (Regulation 261/2004). Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 was signed on 16 September 2026, published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026 and applies from 23 October 2027. Until then the current rules apply.
The compensation amounts and the 3-hour threshold stay. The changes are in the details: when an airline may pay half, how early it has to warn you of a cancellation, how long you have to claim, and new rights such as a free personal item and rebooking yourself.
Old rules and new, side by side
| Rule | Until 22 October 2027 | From 23 October 2027 | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation amounts | €250 up to 1,500 km; €400 within the EU over 1,500 km and for other flights of 1,500–3,500 km; €600 beyond. | Unchanged. | Art. 7(1) |
| Delay that gives compensation | Arriving 3 hours or more late, from the EU Court of Justice (Sturgeon, 2009); not in the text itself. | Arriving more than three hours late at the final destination, now written into the Regulation. | Art. 6(4) |
| Half compensation | Allowed when a rerouted flight arrives no more than 2, 3 or 4 hours late (by band); on flights over 3,500 km also for a delay of 3–4 hours. | Only on the €600 band, when the arrival is no more than 4 hours late after a rerouting or a delay. | Art. 7(2) |
| Cancellation without compensation | Told at least 14 days before; or 7–13 days before with a rerouting leaving at most 2 hours earlier and arriving less than 4 hours later; or under 7 days with at most 1 hour earlier and less than 2 hours later. | Told at least 14 days before; or later, with a rerouting leaving at most 1 hour earlier and arriving less than 2 hours later. The 7–13 day middle step goes. | Art. 5(5) |
| Flight moved earlier | Not in the text. | Moved forward by more than one hour counts as a cancellation. If you take a rerouting that leaves less than 2 or 3 hours early, compensation may be cut by 50% or 25%. | Art. 2(l), 7(3) |
| Extraordinary circumstances | Worked out case by case in court rulings. | A non-exhaustive list in an annex: weather unsafe to fly in, air traffic and airport capacity restrictions, strikes at airports, air navigation or ground handling, damage from animals such as bird strikes, hidden manufacturing defects and more. The airline must name the item it relies on. | Art. 6c, Annex |
| Missed connection, one booking | Covered by court rulings. | In the text: compensation if you reach the final destination more than three hours after the original arrival time. | Art. 6b |
| Airline tells you how to claim | A notice of rights at check-in and when a flight is cancelled or delayed. | Within 96 hours after the journey, electronically: whether you may be owed compensation and how to claim it. | Art. 7(4) |
| Time to claim | Set by each country's limitation rules, so it differs. | Nine months from the departure date on the ticket. | Art. 7(9) |
| Airline's answer | No deadline in the Regulation. | Acknowledge at once; pay, or explain the refusal, within 30 days. | Art. 7(9) |
| Claiming through a company | Allowed. | Still allowed; the airline may ask for proof of the mandate. | Art. 7(9) |
| Rebooking yourself | Not in the text. | If the airline offers no comparable rerouting within 3 hours, you may book your own; it repays up to 400% of the ticket price within 14 days. | Art. 8(3) |
| Hotel nights | No limit. | The airline may limit them to 3 nights when the disruption comes from extraordinary circumstances. | Art. 9(6) |
| Stuck on the tarmac | Not in the text. | After 2 hours the aircraft must go to a gate or another point where you can get off, unless safety, security, immigration or air traffic control reasons prevent it. | Art. 6a(3) |
| Return flight after a missed outbound | Not in the text. | The airline may not refuse you, or charge you, on the return because you did not fly the outbound. | Art. 4(5) |
| Personal item and cabin bag | Not in the text. | A personal item (up to 40 × 30 × 15 cm, or one that fits under the seat) at no extra cost. Fares including a cabin bag must be shown by default. | Art. 2(ah), 11a |
| Name correction | Not in the text. | Spelling mistakes corrected free at least once, if asked at least 48 hours before departure. | Art. 12a |
| How distance is measured | Great circle, from the first departure to the final destination. | Unchanged. | Art. 7(5) |
Articles are those of Regulation 261/2004 as amended by 2026/2202. Checked against the Official Journal text (OJ L, 2026/2202, 2.10.2026) on 2026-10-13. The rules until 2027: Regulation 261/2004.
What it means on our route pages
Every route page shows the EU261 amount each way, from the great-circle distance. Those amounts and the 1,500 km and 3,500 km band edges stay the same after 23 October 2027. Three examples:
MAD–BCN, 483 km
€250 before and after
FRA–ATH, 1,816 km
€400 before and after
FRA–JFK, 6,189 km
€600 before and after (€300 for 3–4 hours late, both before and after)
For any other pair, the flight distance calculator gives the great-circle distance and the EU261 band.
Which flights it covers
The scope stays as it is: every flight leaving an airport in the EU (with Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), on any airline, and flights into the EU on an EU airline. The text applies from 23 October 2027 and has no separate rule for tickets bought before that date.
UK261 does not change. The UK kept its own copy of the 2004 rules after Brexit (£220, £350 or £520), and an EU regulation does not amend it. A flight from the EU to the UK, or from the UK to the EU on an EU airline, falls under the EU rules as well.
Questions
Information, not legal advice. The legal text is what counts: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 on EUR-Lex. Written 2026-10-13.