EU261 Reform 2026: What Changes — and What Applies Today?

The EU has adopted the first major overhaul of air passenger rights Regulation 261/2004 in over two decades — but none of it applies yet. This tracker shows what was decided in July 2026, what still governs your flight today, and when that changes. We update it at every step of the procedure.

Where the reform stands right now

Last updated: August 5, 2026

15 June 2026 — Parliament and Council negotiators agree on a joint text in conciliation (PE-CONS 39/26)
7 July 2026 — The European Parliament approves the joint text with 646 votes to 12 (3 abstentions)
13 July 2026 — The Council gives its final approval — the reform is adopted
Next step — Signature and publication in the Official Journal of the EU — still pending
+ 20 days — The regulation enters into force 20 days after publication
+ 12 months — The new rules start applying 12 months after entry into force — realistically in the second half of 2027

Status last checked against the official EU procedure file 2013/0072(COD) on 5 August 2026. As of that date, the reform had not yet been published in the Official Journal. The approved wording is publicly available as joint text PE-CONS 39/1/26 REV 1; the official version in the Official Journal is still pending.

Did the EU change flight compensation rules in 2026?

Yes — the EU adopted a reform of air passenger rights Regulation 261/2004 in July 2026: the European Parliament approved the final text on 7 July 2026 with 646 votes to 12, and the Council gave its final approval on 13 July 2026. But none of the new rules apply yet. The reform still has to be published in the EU's Official Journal, and its provisions only start applying about 12 months after entry into force — realistically in the second half of 2027. Until then, today's rules remain fully in force: EUR 250 to EUR 600 compensation from 3 hours of delay at the final destination, with claim deadlines set by national law. The adopted text keeps the 3-hour threshold and the amounts. It adds a 9-month window for filing your claim with the airline, a 30-day duty for the airline to respond, information duties within 96 hours, rerouting after 3 hours, and clearer hand-baggage pricing.

What applies today (until about H2 2027)?

If your flight was delayed, cancelled or overbooked in 2025 or 2026, the current rules apply to your claim — in full and unchanged by the reform. This is what Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 provides for today:

Overview of the air passenger rights that currently apply
Delay	EUR 250, 400 or 600 depending on flight distance, from 3 hours of delay at the final destination
Cancellation	Same amounts — unless the airline informed you more than 14 days before departure or extraordinary circumstances apply
Denied boarding	Compensation for involuntary denied boarding, for example due to overbooking
Deadlines	Set by national law — for example 3 years in Germany (counted from the end of the year of the flight), 6 years in England & Wales, 1 year in Belgium
Scope	All departures from EU/EEA airports, plus flights into the EU operated by EU carriers

Details by disruption type:Flight Delay Cancellation Denied Boarding

What did the EU actually decide in July 2026?

The adopted text keeps the 3-hour compensation threshold and today's amounts of EUR 250, 400 and 600. The higher thresholds discussed in the Council in 2025 — compensation only from 4 or 6 hours, at EUR 300 and 500 — did not survive the conciliation procedure and are not part of the adopted reform. Many older articles still cite those figures; they are outdated.

The path to adoption

5 June 2025 — The Council agrees its negotiating position — including 4/6-hour thresholds and EUR 300/500 amounts
2 October 2025 — The Council formally adopts its first-reading position
21 January 2026 — Parliament amends the Council position in second reading — the file goes to conciliation
15 June 2026 — The Conciliation Committee agrees a joint text (PE-CONS 39/26)
7 July 2026 — Parliament approves the joint text: 646 votes to 12
13 July 2026 — The Council gives its final approval — the reform is adopted and awaits publication

What are the key changes for passengers?

The new obligations only start applying about 12 months after the regulation enters into force — realistically in the second half of 2027. Until then, the "Today" column is the law.

Comparison of current rules and the rules after the reform starts applying
Rule	Today	From about H2 2027
Delay threshold	3 hours at the final destination	3 hours — unchanged
Compensation amounts	EUR 250 / 400 / 600 by distance	Unchanged — but a new Article 7(2) allows halving long-haul compensation in certain rerouting scenarios
Filing your claim	No EU-wide filing deadline with the airline; court deadlines follow national law	Claims are filed with the airline within 9 months of the departure date
Airline response	No fixed EU-wide deadline	The airline must pay or give a reasoned refusal within 30 calendar days
Payout	No prescribed procedure	Compensation "upon request" — passengers must actively file a claim
Information duties	General duty to inform passengers about their rights	The airline must inform passengers electronically about the compensation claim and how to submit it within 96 hours of the end of the journey
Rerouting	Rerouting at the earliest opportunity	The airline must offer rerouting within 3 hours of the disruption
Hand baggage	Not regulated in EU261	A small personal item on board is guaranteed free of charge; charges for other hand baggage must be shown transparently

Does the 9-month deadline replace national time limits?

No — the adopted text does not state that. The new Article 7(9) creates a filing window with the airline: passengers submit their compensation claim to the operating carrier within 9 months of the departure date, and the carrier must pay or give a reasoned refusal within 30 calendar days. It is a procedural rule for handling claims with the airline.

At the same time, Recital 38 of the adopted text expressly preserves passengers' access to the courts. How the 9-month window interacts with national limitation periods — such as Germany's 3-year rule — is not regulated in the text itself. Under today's law, only the national deadlines matter; once the new rules apply, filing with the airline within 9 months will be the procedure the regulation itself describes.

All claim deadlines by country

How is a claim submitted — and can the airline prescribe the route?

Some airlines name a specific submission route, for example their own web form only. What matters for the answer is whether the flight falls under today's law or under the reform once it starts applying.

Today: the regulation prescribes no particular form

In its current version, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 contains no provision on the form or channel in which a passenger submits a compensation claim. Article 15(1) provides that obligations towards passengers may not be limited or waived, notably by a derogation or restrictive clause in the contract of carriage; paragraph 2 keeps the route to the competent courts or bodies open if such a clause is applied nonetheless. Whether a particular airline's terms fall under that rule in a given case is a legal question we do not assess. In practice: a company that only services its own channel often leaves informal letters unanswered, and the effort of chasing them up sits with the passenger. Using the stated route and documenting the submission with a date avoids that dispute.

After the reform: claims handling on a clock

The adopted text puts compensation claims on fixed deadlines for the first time. The details below come from joint text PE-CONS 39/1/26 REV 1, approved by Parliament and Council; the official version in the Official Journal is still pending. Article references are to Regulation 261/2004 as amended.

Claim and complaint handling deadlines under the adopted text
Step	Deadline under the adopted text
Information after the disruption	Within 96 hours of the termination of the journey, the airline provides information on the right to compensation and clear instructions on how to submit a request, electronically and on a durable medium (Article 7(4)).
Passenger's request	Within 9 months of the actual date of departure indicated on the ticket (Article 7(9)).
Acknowledgement of receipt	Immediately, on a durable medium (Article 7(9)).
Reply to the request	Within 30 calendar days of receipt: pay, or justify not paying. If the airline invokes an extraordinary circumstance, it must specify and explain it (Article 7(9)).
Complaint to the airline	Within 12 months of the flight date or within 3 months of the compensation request, whichever is later (Article 15a(2)).
Response to the complaint	Confirmation of receipt within 7 working days; reasoned reply within one month, or in duly justified cases a final reply within less than two months of receipt (Article 15a(2)).
Request filed by a third party	Where a third party files on the passenger's behalf, the airline may require evidence of a valid mandate (Article 7(9)).
Access without a user account	A user account or a specific application may not be a precondition for accessing information, correspondence, forms or documents (Article 14(7)).

What the adopted text leaves open

The adopted text prescribes no particular submission channel. At second reading, Parliament had asked that the airline send a pre-filled common form on its own initiative and that the request be filed through that form. For compensation claims, that obligation did not make it into the joint text; in its place stands the requirement to give instructions on how to submit a request within 96 hours. A common form to be established by the Commission is provided only for baggage complaints under Regulation (EC) No 2027/97. Recital 39 states that passengers should be able to make an application directly and personally, in a clear and accessible manner — a recital, not a standalone provision. What this means for mandatory web forms will only become clear once the rules start applying. We will update this section as soon as the official version appears in the Official Journal.

When exactly do the new rules start applying?

Two dates matter, and they are often mixed up. The regulation enters into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU — as of 5 August 2026, that publication is still pending. Applicability comes later: the new rules only start applying 12 months after entry into force, which realistically points to the second half of 2027. "In force" does not mean "applies" — until the end of the transition period, claims follow today's law.

This page is a living document: we update it whenever the procedure moves. Next expected step: publication in the Official Journal.

Frequently asked questions about the EU261 reform

Do I lose my claim if I wait for the new rules?

No. Flights disrupted before the new rules apply are governed by today's law, including national deadlines — in Germany, for example, 3 years counted from the end of the year of the flight. Airlines process claims under the current rules now; the reform does not pause or shorten existing claims.

Which rules apply to a flight in December 2026?

Today's rules. The reform was adopted in July 2026, but its provisions only start applying about 12 months after entry into force — realistically in the second half of 2027. A flight disrupted in December 2026 therefore falls under the current Regulation 261/2004, with EUR 250–600 from 3 hours of delay.

Was EU flight compensation reduced?

No. The adopted text keeps EUR 250, 400 and 600 and the 3-hour threshold. The 2025 Council proposal with 4/6-hour thresholds and EUR 300/500 amounts did not survive conciliation. One nuance is new: Article 7(2) will allow halving long-haul compensation in certain rerouting scenarios.

When will the reform be published in the Official Journal?

As of 5 August 2026, publication is still pending. Publication starts the clock: the regulation enters into force 20 days later, and the new rules apply 12 months after that. We check the official EU procedure file and update this page as soon as the status changes.

Does the reform change anything for a current claim?

No. For flights disrupted before the new rules start to apply — realistically until the second half of 2027 — today's law applies in full: EUR 250, 400 or 600 from three hours' delay at the final destination. You can submit your claim now exactly as before; the reform changes neither the amounts nor the deadlines for it.

How will I know when the new rules actually apply?

It only becomes binding with publication in the EU Official Journal: the regulation enters into force 20 days later, and its provisions apply roughly 12 months after that. Until then, any stated date is a forecast. This page is checked against the official EU procedure file 2013/0072(COD) and updated at the next procedural step.

Can the airline require me to submit my claim only through its own form?

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 prescribes no particular form for submitting a claim today, and Article 15 prohibits limiting obligations towards passengers by a restrictive clause in the contract of carriage. Whether a specific airline's terms fall under that is a legal question we do not assess. In practice: if a company only processes submissions through its own channel, an informal letter often goes unanswered. Use the stated route and keep a dated copy. The adopted reform text likewise prescribes no particular channel, but it does oblige the airline to provide clear instructions on how to submit a request within 96 hours of the end of the journey.

Primary sources

All sources last checked on 5 August 2026.

Your flight today falls under the current rules

Check your flight for free — no sign-up needed. The check applies today's EU261 rules: depending on distance and delay, the regulation provides for EUR 250 to 600.

Start the free check