EU261 Rights Independent

Current position

Your rights have not changed yet. The reform is now law — Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, published 2 October 2026 — but it applies only from 23 October 2027. It keeps the three-hour threshold and the €250–€600 amounts. What changes in 2027 →

Checked

EU261 · KL

KLM flight compensation

KLM owes €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance when you arrive three hours or more late, or your flight is cancelled at short notice, for a reason within its control. Claim on its compensation page first; if it refuses, escalate free to the enforcement body of the country you departed from, or to AviationADR for flights from the UK.

Checked against its sources

Typical amounts

€250 · €400 · €600

£220 · £350 · £520 under UK261. On a flight over 3,500 km outside the EU the amount can be halved if you arrive no more than four hours late, Art 7(2)(c).

Regulator

Where you departed

Home regulator: ILT (Netherlands) (competent for flights departing the Netherlands). Otherwise complain to the body where your flight departed, or for a flight into the EU from outside, the arrival country: see enforcement bodies. For flights from the UK, AviationADR comes first.

Registered in

Netherlands

An EU carrier, so EU261 also covers its flights into the EU from outside, including long-haul arrivals Art 3(1)(b).

Where to send it

Claim first
Use the claim route on KLM’s compensation page. If you are offered a voucher instead of money, you can refuse it.
UK flights
KLM belongs to AviationADR, a CAA-approved scheme. A refused claim on a UK flight goes there, free, rather than to the CAA.
Germany
KLM is on the member list of Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr (formerly söp), the German conciliation body, dated 1 July 2026.
Anywhere else
The enforcement body of the country you departed from, or for a flight into the EU from outside, the arrival country Art 16. Free to use.

Before you accept a refusal

Our advice, not a description of how KLM handles claims.

  • On a connecting itinerary booked as one ticket, compensation turns on the delay at your final destination, not on each leg (Air France v Folkerts, C-11/11).
  • You can insist on money. Art 7(3) allows travel vouchers only with your signed agreement.
  • On long-haul offers, check the arithmetic: the 50% reduction in Art 7(2) applies only where the arrival delay is within the limit for the distance (four hours on flights over 3,500 km).
  • If the refusal cites air traffic control restrictions, a strike or weather, ask which event affected your flight and how. Under Art 5(3) the airline has to show the circumstance was extraordinary and could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures.
  • The deadline for going to court is set by the country whose courts hear the claim, not by the airline: see time limits by country.

Claim it yourself first

  1. Write to KLM quoting the article. “I am claiming under Article 7 for a delayed arrival on [flight] on [date].” Free, and you keep the whole amount. Use the template.
  2. Give them 28 days and diary the deadline.
  3. Refuse a voucher offered in place of cash.
  4. Escalate free to AviationADR for a flight from the UK, otherwise to the enforcement body of the country you departed from, if they refuse.
  5. Only then consider a claims service.
Work out what you’re owed →

Doing it yourself costs nothing and keeps the full amount.

Questions

How much compensation can I claim from KLM?

The amount depends on flight distance, not on the airline or your fare: €250, €400 or €600 under Article 7(1), or £220, £350 or £520 under UK261. KLM flies long-haul, so all three bands occur; on flights over 3,500 km the amount can be halved where the arrival delay is no more than four hours.

How do I claim compensation from KLM?

Use the claim route on KLM's compensation page, quoting Article 7 and your flight number, and allow 28 days. If it refuses, escalate free: for flights from the UK to AviationADR, its approved ADR scheme, otherwise to the enforcement body of the country you departed from.

Which regulator covers KLM?

It depends on where the flight departed, not on the airline. The Netherlands' ILT handles flights departing the Netherlands; for a flight from another EU country, complain to that country's body, and for a flight into the EU from outside, to the arrival country's body (Article 16). For flights from the UK, AviationADR comes first.