Everything, sourced
The official sources, all in one place
Every figure and rule on this site traces back to one of these primary sources. Claims companies rarely link to the law itself. We would rather you read it. Every link below was tested on the date shown.
Checked against its sources
Quoted from the European Commission
On a delayed arrival, the Commission states that if you arrived at your final destination “with a delay of 3 hours or more, you are entitled to compensation” unless the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances, and that “the airline has to prove this.” europa.eu, Air passenger rights
EU law
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
- The current law, on the EU’s official law database. Every claim for a flight before 23 October 2027 is decided under this text as the Court of Justice has interpreted it. EUR-Lex →
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2202
- The reform that amends Regulation 261/2004 and Regulation 2027/97. Published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026, in force from 22 October 2026, applicable from 23 October 2027. EUR-Lex →
- Legislative procedure 2013/0072(COD)
- The European Parliament’s procedure file for the reform, from the Commission’s 2013 proposal to adoption, with every stage and document. Legislative Observatory →
- Commission Interpretative Guidelines (C/2024/5687)
- The Commission’s 2024 notice on how it reads Regulation 261/2004 and Regulation 2027/97, summarising the case law. It does not bind the courts. EUR-Lex →
- Regulation (EC) No 889/2002
- Brings the Montreal Convention into EU law for EU carriers: the source of baggage and delay-damage rights, separate from Regulation 261/2004. EUR-Lex →
The reform does not change anyone’s rights until 23 October 2027. What it changes →
Complaints and enforcement
- Your Europe: air passenger rights
- The Commission’s plain-language guide for passengers. europa.eu →
- National enforcement bodies
- The Commission’s PDF list of the body to complain to in each country. PDF →
- European Consumer Centres (ECC-Net)
- Free advice on a cross-border complaint against a trader, airlines included. commission.europa.eu →
- European Small Claims Procedure
- How to take a trader in another EU country to court without a lawyer. europa.eu →
- Commission note on claim agencies (2017)
- The Commission’s information note on how consumer, marketing and data-protection law applies to claims companies. Worth reading before you sign with one. PDF →
United Kingdom
- UK261 on legislation.gov.uk
- The version of Regulation 261/2004 the UK kept at the end of the Brexit transition. Since the end of 2023 it is called assimilated law. The 2026 EU reform does not apply to it. legislation.gov.uk →
- Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, section 5
- The provision that renamed retained EU law “assimilated law” for all times after the end of 2023. legislation.gov.uk →
- UK Civil Aviation Authority
- The UK regulator’s passenger pages, and the enforcement route for UK261. caa.co.uk →
The courts
- Judgments on EUR-Lex
- Every Court of Justice judgment on Regulation 261/2004, in full. Search by CELEX number: 6, the year, CJ, then the case number in four digits. Sturgeon (C-402/07) is 62007CJ0402. Sturgeon on EUR-Lex →
- CURIA
- The Court of Justice’s own site, with the case file, opinions and pending cases. curia.europa.eu →
Questions
Where can I read EU261 in full?
On EUR-Lex, the EU’s official law database, as Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. The 2026 amending Regulation, (EU) 2026/2202, is on EUR-Lex too, and the UK version is on legislation.gov.uk. All three are linked above.
Is there an official EU compensation calculator?
No. The Commission’s Your Europe page explains the rules but offers no calculator. Ours applies the same rules, and the source for every figure is linked above.