Art 5(3)

The airline blamed the weather

"It was weather" is the most common refusal, and one of the most commonly overstated. The bar is higher than airlines imply.

Checked against its sources 5 Oct 2026

The short answer

Weather can be a valid defence — but only for the delay it genuinely caused, and the airline has to prove it took reasonable measures.

The one thing to know: The airline must show the weather actually disrupted your flight, or the aircraft's earlier flight, and that it could not have limited the delay. If other aircraft were flying normally around your slot, the defence is in trouble.

How it actually works

Recital 14 of the Regulation names “meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned” as a possible extraordinary circumstance. The words that do the work are “incompatible” and “the flight concerned”: the weather has to have made your flight impossible or unsafe to operate on time, not merely unpleasant. The Commission's 2024 guidelines treat a delay at an airport congested by bad weather as extraordinary.

Two limbs, not one: It is not enough that bad weather existed somewhere. The airline must prove the weather genuinely disrupted your flight and that it could not have avoided the cancellation or delay with all reasonable measures Art 5(3). The burden is on the airline.
Reserve time: In Eglītis (C-294/10, 2011) the Court held that an airline must plan for a certain reserve of time so that it can still operate the flight once the extraordinary circumstances end. There is no fixed minimum, and it need not make intolerable sacrifices, but “the storm passed at 14:00 and we left at 21:00” needs explaining.
Only the weather's share counts: Under Pešková (C-315/15, 2017), where a delay has several causes, the time caused by the extraordinary event is deducted. If weather accounts for one hour of a four-and-a-half-hour arrival delay and the rest is the airline's own problem, three and a half hours remain and compensation is due.
The rotation question: A delay blamed on weather is often an aircraft arriving late from an earlier flight. The Court allows the airline to rely on an extraordinary circumstance that hit an earlier flight with the same aircraft, but only with a direct causal link to yours (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, C-74/19, 2020). If the earlier delay had an ordinary cause, such as a technical fault, or the airline's own scheduling turned a short hold into a long one, the defence fails.
Check it yourself: Historic weather reports (METAR) for every airport are public. If conditions had cleared well before your departure, or other flights operated normally, ask the airline to explain why yours did not.

See how this defence gets beaten →

Ask the airline, in writing

A refusal that says “adverse weather” and nothing more does not discharge the burden of proof. Ask for:

The weather event: what it was, at which airport, and between which times.
Whether it hit your flight or an earlier flight by the same aircraft, with the flight numbers and a timeline of the aircraft's day.
Any air traffic control slot or airport restriction it relies on, with the times.
What reserve of time, spare aircraft or crew it had, and why they were not used.
Which rerouting options, including other airlines, it considered for you. In Transportes Aéreos Portugueses the Court held that putting you on the airline's own flight the next day is not a reasonable measure if another flight would have got you there sooner, unless that was an intolerable sacrifice.

What you are owed whatever the cause

Bad weather is the classic case where compensation may fall away and care does not. Extraordinary circumstances only switch off the fixed compensation in Article 7. They do not switch off the rest.

Care while you wait: Meals and refreshments in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and a hotel plus transport to it if you are stuck overnight Art 9. For a delay this starts at 2, 3 or 4 hours depending on distance Art 6(1). In McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) the volcanic-ash closure of European airspace was extraordinary, and the airline still owed care for the whole wait, with no time limit.
Refund or rerouting: If the flight is cancelled, you choose between a refund of the unused ticket within seven days and rerouting at the earliest opportunity Art 5(1)(a), Art 8. If a delay reaches five hours you can abandon the trip and take the refund instead Art 6(1)(iii).
If the airline did not provide it: Buy what is reasonable, keep every receipt and claim it back. The Court limits this to costs that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable, so a sandwich and a mid-range hotel, not a suite.

Stranded overnight

No hotel from the airline?

Book a reasonable room near the airport yourself and keep the receipt, then claim the cost back from the airline. You recover what was necessary, appropriate and reasonable: a mid-range hotel, not a suite (McDonagh, C-12/11).

Hotels nearest each airport, on Agoda. These are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure.

What changes from 23 October 2027

Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 gives Regulation 261 a non-exhaustive list of extraordinary circumstances in a new Annex. It applies from 23 October 2027. Weather is point (1)(c):

Annex (1)(c): “meteorological conditions or damage to the aircraft caused by meteorological events which are incompatible with the safe operation of the flight”.

Two things follow. The test is now expressly safe operation, so weather that was merely inconvenient does not qualify. And damage caused by weather, such as hail damage, is named outright. Listing an event is not the end of it: the airline must still prove a direct causal link between the weather and your disruption, and that all reasonable measures were taken new Art 6c(2). When it refuses, it must say which listed circumstance it relies on and explain both points within 30 days new Art 7(9). Where the disruption was extraordinary and unavoidable, it may cap hotel nights at three new Art 9(6). The full reform explained →

None of this applies to UK261, which the reform does not touch.

What to do now

Photograph the evidence — the departure board, the app before it updates, the arrival time when the door opens. The full checklist →
Write to the airline, quoting the article and the flight. Use the template →
Give them 28 days, then escalate free to the national enforcement body.
Check your time limit — it varies by country: six years in England, one year in Poland and Belgium, and unsettled in Italy. See yours →

Questions

The airline blamed the weather: am I owed compensation?

Weather can be a valid defence — but only for the delay it genuinely caused, and the airline has to prove it took reasonable measures.

The weather was fine at my airport. Can the airline still blame it?

Possibly. In Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (C-74/19, 2020) the Court of Justice held that an airline may rely on an extraordinary circumstance that hit an earlier flight by the same aircraft, but only if there is a direct causal link to your delay. Ask which flight, where, and what happened.

Part of the delay was weather and part was not. Do I get anything?

Possibly. In Pešková (C-315/15, 2017) the Court held that the delay caused by the extraordinary event is deducted and the remainder is tested against the three-hour threshold. If more than three hours of the arrival delay were down to the airline, compensation is still due.

Does the airline still have to pay for food and a hotel if the weather was extraordinary?

Yes. The duty of care in Article 9 has no extraordinary-circumstances exception. In McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) it applied throughout the volcanic-ash closures. From 23 October 2027 an airline may cap hotel accommodation at three nights where the disruption was extraordinary and unavoidable.

How do I claim it?

Write to the airline first, quoting the article and flight, and allow 28 days. It is free and you keep the whole amount. Escalate to the national enforcement body if refused.