Regulation (EU) 2026/2202
The EU261 reform: what changes, and when
The reform is law. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 was published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026, enters into force on 22 October 2026 and applies from 23 October 2027. Until that date every claim is decided under Regulation 261/2004 exactly as it stands, and the UK’s version, UK261, is not affected at all.
Checked against the published text
The short answer
The amounts (€250, €400, €600) and the three-hour delay threshold survive unchanged. What changes is the procedure around them: a nine-month deadline to ask for compensation, a 30-day deadline for the airline to answer, a written list of extraordinary circumstances, a three-night cap on hotels in genuinely unavoidable disruption, and a free personal item in the cabin.
The timeline
Thirteen years from proposal to Official Journal. The dates below are from the European Parliament’s procedure file and the published Regulation.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 13 Mar 2013 | Commission proposal, COM(2013) 130 |
| 5 Feb 2014 | Parliament’s first reading |
| 29 Sep 2025 | Council’s first-reading position: delay compensation only after 4 hours (up to 3,500 km, €300) or 6 hours (over 3,500 km, €500) |
| 21 Jan 2026 | Parliament’s second reading amends the Council position; the Council rejects the amendments on 24 March |
| 15 Jun 2026 | Conciliation Committee approves a joint text (00039/2026) |
| 7 & 13 Jul 2026 | Parliament (third reading) and Council approve the joint text |
| 16 Sep 2026 | Signed in Strasbourg |
| 2 Oct 2026 | Published in the Official Journal as Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 |
| 22 Oct 2026 | Enters into force (twentieth day after publication, Art 3) |
| 23 Oct 2027 | Applies: the new rules start deciding claims (Art 3) |
“In force” and “applies” are different things. From 22 October 2026 the Regulation exists as law; it governs nothing until 23 October 2027. The text contains no provision applying it to flights before that date.
What does not change
- The amounts. €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 for intra-EU journeys over 1,500 km and other journeys of 1,500–3,500 km, €600 for the rest new Art 7(1). They are not index-linked; the Commission must review them, with inflation among the factors, by 23 October 2031 new Art 17(2).
- The three-hour delay threshold. Compensation is due on reaching the final destination “with a delay at arrival exceeding three hours” new Art 6(4). The Council’s 4-hour and 6-hour thresholds did not survive conciliation.
- The long-haul halving. On journeys over 3,500 km the airline may still halve the €600 where you arrive no more than four hours late new Art 7(2).
- The defence. The airline still pays unless it proves extraordinary circumstances and that it took all reasonable measures, and it now also has to prove a direct causal link new Art 6c(2).
- UK261. The UK left the EU before this was agreed. Flights covered by UK261 (£220 / £350 / £520) are not touched by Regulation 2026/2202.
What changes on 23 October 2027
Today’s rule is the 2004 Regulation as the Court of Justice has read it. The right-hand column is the text that replaces it. Article numbers are those of Regulation 261/2004 as amended.
| Topic | Today | From 23 Oct 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to claim | None in the Regulation. The national limitation period applies: six years in England, one year in Poland, unsettled in Italy (Moré, C-139/11). | The request for compensation must be submitted within nine months of the departure date on the ticket Art 7(9). |
| Airline’s duty to tell you | A printed notice of rights at check-in and on denied boarding, cancellation or a two-hour delay (Art 14). | Within 96 hours of the end of the journey, the airline must send you, electronically, your right to compensation and how to claim it Art 7(4). |
| Airline’s deadline to answer | None in the Regulation. | Acknowledge at once; pay or give reasons within 30 calendar days, naming the listed extraordinary circumstance relied on and explaining the causal link Art 7(9). |
| How you are paid | Cash, bank transfer or cheque; vouchers only with your signed agreement (Art 7(3)). | Bank transfer, unless you explicitly agree otherwise on a durable medium; the airline bears the burden of proving that agreement Art 7(7)–(8). |
| Extraordinary circumstances | Defined only by case law (Wallentin-Hermann, van der Lans, Pešková and others). | A non-exhaustive list in a new Annex: weather incompatible with safe operation, ATC restrictions, hidden manufacturing defects revealed by the manufacturer or an authority, strikes at airports and ground handlers, and more Art 6c, Annex. How the list compares with case law → |
| Strikes by the airline’s own staff | Not extraordinary (Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20). | Still not extraordinary, unless the strike “originate[s] from demands that only public authorities can satisfy” Annex (3)(h). |
| When you “arrived” | When at least one aircraft door opens (Germanwings, C-452/13). | On-block time: the aircraft at the stand with its parking brakes on Art 2(x). Usually a few minutes earlier than the door opening, which matters on a delay of three hours and a few minutes. |
| Cancellation notice | No compensation if told 14+ days ahead; or 7–14 days ahead with a reroute leaving ≤2 h early and arriving <4 h late; or under 7 days with a reroute leaving ≤1 h early and arriving <2 h late (Art 5(1)(c)). | Two cases only: told 14+ days ahead, or told later and offered a reroute leaving no more than 1 h early and arriving less than 2 h late Art 5(5). The looser 7–14-day window disappears. |
| Diversion to a nearby airport | Not a cancellation; treated by reference to the delay at the airport you were booked to. | No refund, rerouting or compensation if the airport serves the same town or region, the airline transports you on, and you reach the ticketed airport no more than 3 hours late Art 5(6). |
| Missed connections | Compensation on a 3-hour arrival delay at the final destination on one booking (Folkerts, C-11/11). | Written into the Regulation. The carrier of the delayed flight reroutes you and provides care, must also offer a refund if it cannot reroute within 5 hours, and pays compensation on a 3-hour delay Art 6b. |
| Tarmac delays | No specific rule. | Heating or cooling, toilets and, where possible, water on board; after 2 hours the aircraft returns to a gate so passengers can leave, unless safety, security, immigration or ATC prevents it Art 6a. |
| Refund timing | Within 7 days (Art 8(1)(a)). | “Automatic” refund within 7 days of your choice, by bank transfer; extendable to 30 days if an airport activates its contingency plan Art 8(1). |
| Rerouting yourself | Not regulated; recoverable costs depend on the facts and national courts. | If the airline offers no comparable reroute within 3 hours of your choice, you may book your own and claim back necessary, reasonable costs up to 400% of the ticket price, paid within 14 days Art 8(3). |
| Hotels | No cap, however long the disruption lasts (McDonagh, C-12/11). | The airline may cap hotel accommodation at 3 nights, but only where the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances and could not have been avoided Art 9(6). The cap does not apply to passengers with reduced mobility, unaccompanied minors and the other groups in Art 11(3) Art 11(10). |
| Denied boarding | Compensation “immediately” (Art 4(3)). | Within 7 days at the latest; a volunteer’s deal replaces compensation only if accepted on a durable medium Art 4. You can no longer be refused the return flight because you skipped the outbound Art 4(5). |
| Downgrading | 30% / 50% / 75% of the ticket price, within 7 days (Art 10(2)). | Same percentages, refunded automatically within 14 days Art 10(2). |
| Cabin bags | No rule; airlines charge for anything beyond what they choose to allow. | One personal item (40×30×15 cm, or one that fits under the seat) free; fares including hand baggage shown by default before booking starts Art 11a. |
| Families | No seating rule. | A person accompanying a child under 14, or a passenger with reduced mobility, is offered an adjacent seat free of charge Art 11(4). |
| Complaints | Any complaint to the airline, then the national enforcement body (Art 16). | Each airline must run a complaint mechanism; complain within 12 months of the flight (or 3 months after your compensation request, if later); acknowledgement in 7 working days, reasoned reply within one month Art 15a. |
Better or worse for passengers?
Both, and anyone telling you only one half is selling something. The headline rights survived an airline-backed attempt to cut them: the Council’s 4- and 6-hour thresholds would have taken delays of three to four hours, the most common qualifying delays, out of compensation entirely. Several changes make claims faster and harder to stonewall: the 96-hour notice, the 30-day answer, the duty to name the extraordinary circumstance and the bank-transfer default.
Against that, three things narrow the right:
- The nine-month deadline. In England a passenger has six years today. For flights from 23 October 2027 the request to the airline must go in within nine months. How that interacts with national limitation periods for court action is not settled by the text, and it should not be assumed either way.
- The hotel cap. After three nights in an unavoidable disruption, such as an ash cloud or an airspace closure, the airline can stop paying for accommodation.
- The Annex. A written list is easier to apply, and it also names some events airlines have argued about for years, such as hidden manufacturing defects and failures by airport service providers. Each still requires the airline to show it took all reasonable measures.
What to do now
- For any flight before 23 October 2027, claim under the current rules. Work out the amount →
- Check your national time limit, which is still the only deadline that applies. Time limits by country →
- Write to the airline yourself. It is free, and you keep the whole amount. Letter templates →
- For flights from 23 October 2027, treat nine months as the deadline to send the request, and keep the 96-hour email the airline must send you.
Questions
Has the EU261 reform come into force?
It enters into force on 22 October 2026 but applies only from 23 October 2027. Until then, claims are decided under Regulation 261/2004 as it stands.
Did the delay threshold go up to four or five hours?
No. That was the Council’s position, and it was dropped in conciliation. The final text keeps compensation for an arrival delay of more than three hours.
Were the compensation amounts cut?
No. They stay at €250, €400 and €600, with the same distance bands. They are not index-linked, and the Commission must review them by 23 October 2031.
Does the reform apply to my flight last month?
No. The Regulation applies from 23 October 2027 and contains no provision reaching back to earlier flights. A flight taken before then is governed by the current rules and your national time limit.
Does the reform change UK261?
No. UK261 is UK law and is not amended by an EU Regulation adopted after the UK left. Flights it covers keep the £220, £350 and £520 amounts.