Reference · Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
Regulation 261/2004, in plain English
EU261 has nineteen articles, and Articles 4 to 9 decide almost every claim. Below is what each one says today, checked against the text on EUR-Lex, next to what the amending Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 changes once it applies on 23 October 2027.
Checked against its sources
Which version applies to your flight
The current text, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, decides every claim until the reform applies. 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 (its Article 3). Until then the right-hand column below is law on paper only. It does not touch UK261: the UK keeps its own version, available on legislation.gov.uk. The 2027 changes in full →
Article by article
Left: the law today. Right: what Regulation 2026/2202 puts in its place from 23 October 2027.
| Article | Current law | From 23 Oct 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Article 1 What the law is for | Sets minimum rights for passengers who are denied boarding against their will, whose flight is cancelled, or whose flight is delayed. Minimum means an airline can give more, never less. | The list is widened to rescheduled flights, missed connections and upgrades or downgrades. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 1 |
| Article 2 Definitions | Defines the terms the rest of the law relies on. The operating air carrier is the airline that performs, or intends to perform, the flight. It owes you, even if you booked through someone else (Art 3(5)). | “Time of arrival” becomes on-block time: the aircraft at its stand with the parking brakes on. Today, under Germanwings (C-452/13), arrival is when at least one aircraft door opens. A “child” is anyone under 14. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 2 |
| Article 3 Who is covered | Flights departing an EU airport on any airline, and flights into the EU from outside it on an airline licensed in the EU, unless you received benefits or compensation and assistance in that non-EU country. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland apply the Regulation by agreement. A UK airline is not an EU carrier, so a UK airline’s flight into the EU from outside it is not covered by EU261. You need a confirmed reservation and must present yourself for check-in on time (45 minutes before departure if no time was given), except where the flight is cancelled. Free or reduced fares not available to the public are excluded; frequent-flyer tickets are covered. | The inbound exception only applies if the non-EU benefits were equivalent. Holding a ticket replaces the check-in condition. Infants on free tickets and companions of disabled passengers get every right except compensation. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 3 |
| Article 4 Denied boarding | The airline must first ask for volunteers. If it then bumps you against your will, it must compensate you immediately under Article 7 and give you the Article 8 choice and Article 9 care. Overbooking is never an excuse. | Compensation and any refund are due within seven calendar days of the denied boarding. You cannot be refused the return flight, or charged for it, because you did not fly the outbound. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 4(4)–(5) |
| Article 5 Cancellation | You get the Article 8 choice, care, and compensation unless (i) you were told at least two weeks before departure, (ii) told 7 to 14 days before and rerouted to leave no more than 2 hours early and arrive less than 4 hours late, or (iii) told under 7 days before and rerouted to leave no more than 1 hour early and arrive less than 2 hours late. Article 5(3) lets the airline refuse if it proves extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided with all reasonable measures. The airline must prove when it told you (5(4)). | The 7–14-day middle band goes. With under 14 days’ notice, compensation is due unless the rerouting leaves no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours late. A diversion to another airport serving the same city, with onward transport and no more than 3 hours’ delay, carries no refund, rerouting or compensation. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 5(5)–(6) |
| Article 6 Delay | Care starts when the departure delay is expected to reach 2 hours (flights up to 1,500 km), 3 hours (intra-EU over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500–3,500 km) or 4 hours (all others). A hotel is due if departure slips to the next day, and once the delay reaches 5 hours you can take a refund instead. Compensation for arriving three hours or more late is not in this text. The Court of Justice read it in through Sturgeon (C-402/07, 19 November 2009). | Compensation is written in for an arrival delay exceeding three hours (6(4)). A 5-hour departure delay triggers a refund offer (6(3)). New articles cover tarmac delays (disembark after 2 hours, 6a), missed connections on one booking (6b) and extraordinary circumstances (6c). Reg 2026/2202, new Arts 6–6c |
| Article 7 The compensation amounts | €250 for flights up to 1,500 km; €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500–3,500 km; €600 for everything else (UK261: £220, £350, £520). Distance is measured by the great-circle method. Article 7(2) lets the airline halve the sum when it reroutes you and you arrive within 2, 3 or 4 hours of the original arrival time, by distance band. Payment is in money; vouchers only with your signed agreement (7(3)). | Amounts unchanged. The 50% reduction applies only to the €600 band, where you arrive no more than 4 hours late. The airline must send claim instructions within 96 hours, pay by bank transfer unless you explicitly agree otherwise, and answer a claim within 30 days, naming any extraordinary circumstance it relies on. You must claim within nine months. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 7 |
| Article 8 Refund or rerouting | You choose: a refund within seven days of the unused ticket (and of the used part, if the trip no longer serves its purpose, plus a flight back to where you started); rerouting at the earliest opportunity; or rerouting at a later date that suits you. If the airline flies you to a different airport serving the same city, it pays the transfer (8(3)). | Automatic refund within seven calendar days of your choice, by bank transfer by default. If the airline offers no rerouting within 3 hours, you can rebook yourself and recover up to 400% of the ticket price within 14 days. Vouchers need your explicit consent (new Art 8a). Reg 2026/2202, new Arts 8, 8a |
| Article 9 Care: meals, calls, hotels | Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait, a hotel when an overnight stay becomes necessary, transport to and from it, and two phone calls or emails. There is no time or money limit: McDonagh (C-12/11) held so even during the 2010 ash cloud. You can only recover what was necessary, appropriate and reasonable. | Refreshments every 2 hours, a meal after 3 hours and every 5 hours after that, internet access and two calls. The airline may cap the hotel at three nights only if the disruption was extraordinary and unavoidable, and never for passengers with specific needs. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 9; Art 11(10) |
| Article 10 Downgrades and upgrades | Moved down a class, you get 30%, 50% or 75% of the ticket price back within seven days, by distance band. Moved up, you cannot be charged extra. | Automatic reimbursement within 14 calendar days, calculated on the flight price without class-independent taxes. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 10 |
| Article 11 Passengers with reduced mobility | Priority for disabled passengers and people with reduced mobility, anyone accompanying them, and unaccompanied children, with care as soon as possible whatever the length of the delay. | Becomes “passengers with specific needs”, including pregnant women who have told the airline, infants and unaccompanied minors. Anyone accompanying them, or a child, gets an adjacent seat free. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 11 |
| Article 12 Further compensation | The fixed sum does not stop you claiming other proven losses, but the airline can deduct it from any further award. | Rewritten to line up with package-travel law. Compensation already paid under a non-EU country’s law is deducted. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 12 |
| Article 13 The airline’s right to recover costs | The airline can recover its costs from whoever caused the problem, such as a tour operator or another company. That never reduces what it owes you. | Kept in substance. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 13 |
| Article 14 The airline must tell you your rights | A notice at check-in must read: “If you are denied boarding or if your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, ask at the check-in counter or boarding gate for the text stating your rights, particularly with regard to compensation and assistance”. Each affected passenger must also get a written notice of the rules, with the national enforcement body’s contact details (14(2)). | Rights information before purchase and on a durable medium, no app or account required. A new complaint procedure: receipt confirmed within 7 working days, a reasoned reply within one month. Reg 2026/2202, new Arts 14, 15a |
| Article 15 No contracting out | These rights cannot be limited or waived by the contract. If you accepted less because you were not correctly informed, you can still go to court or the enforcement body for the rest (15(2)). | Not amended. |
| Article 16 Enforcement | Each country designates a national enforcement body, and you can complain to it about a flight from that country, or into it from outside the EU. Sanctions must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. | Not amended. |
| Articles 17–19 The administrative tail | A Commission report due by 1 January 2007, repeal of the old Regulation 295/91, and entry into force on 17 February 2005. | A review by 23 October 2031 and every five years after that. Reg 2026/2202, new Art 17 |
Questions
Is EU261 the same as EC261 and Regulation 261/2004?
Yes. They are three names for the same law, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. “UK261” is the version the UK kept after Brexit, now assimilated law. It is near-identical but pays in sterling, and the 2026 EU reform does not change it.
Which article gives me the money?
Article 7 sets the fixed amounts by distance. Article 8 covers your refund or rerouting, and Article 9 covers meals and hotels. They are separate rights and you can hold all three at once.
Has the 2026 reform changed my rights yet?
No. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 was published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026 and enters into force on 22 October 2026, but it applies only from 23 October 2027. Until then every claim is decided under the current text as the Court of Justice has interpreted it.