Frequently Asked Questions about Passenger Rights

EU Regulation 261/2004 is a European law that grants passengers rights in cases of flight delays, cancellations, and denied boarding. It applies to all flights departing from the EU, as well as flights to the EU with an EU airline.

You are entitled to compensation if your flight arrives at the destination more than 3 hours late and the cause is within the airline's responsibility. This was established by the European Court of Justice in the Sturgeon/Condor ruling (C-402/07).

Compensation depends on the flight distance: 250 EUR for distances up to 1,500 km, 400 EUR for distances between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 600 EUR for distances over 3,500 km.

In case of cancellation, you are entitled to compensation unless the airline informed you more than 14 days in advance or offered an equivalent alternative flight. In extraordinary circumstances (e.g., severe weather), the claim is void.

If you are denied boarding despite having a valid ticket and arriving on time at the gate (e.g., due to overbooking), you always have a right to compensation — no exceptions.

EU261 applies to all flights departing from the EU (regardless of airline) and to flights to the EU if the airline is based in the EU. For example, a Lufthansa flight from New York to Frankfurt is covered, but a United Airlines flight on the same route is not.

Extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control exempt them from paying compensation. These include: severe weather, volcanic eruptions, air traffic control strikes, political instability, or security risks. Technical defects and airline staff strikes do not qualify.

In Germany, EU261 claims expire after 3 years, calculated from the end of the year in which the flight took place. Other EU countries may have different deadlines. Act as soon as possible.

We use artificial intelligence to generate a personalized complaint letter based on your flight data and EU Regulation 261/2004. You receive the letter as a downloadable PDF and can send it directly to the airline.

The letter is a professional draft, not binding legal advice. It is based on EU261 regulation and current case law. You should review it before sending. Most airlines respond positively to well-formulated complaint letters.

AirHelp and Flightright handle enforcement on a contingency basis. ClaimEU261 offers a transparent one-time flat fee of 9.99 EUR for the complaint letter. You send the letter to the airline yourself.

If the airline doesn't respond within 4 weeks, you can contact your national enforcement body or an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service free of charge. In Germany this is the söp (soep-online.de), in the UK the CAA. Alternatively, you can engage a lawyer or a passenger rights enforcement service.

The complaint letter costs a one-time flat fee of 9.99 EUR. No subscriptions, no hidden costs, no recurring charges.

We currently accept credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) through our secure payment provider. Additional payment methods will be added soon.

You have a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you're not satisfied, we'll refund the full purchase price within 60 days — no questions asked. Contact us at info@claimeu261.com or through Digistore24 support.

Yes. You have a 60-day money-back guarantee after purchase. If you're not satisfied with the complaint letter for any reason, you'll receive a full refund — no questions asked. Simply email us at info@claimeu261.com or contact Digistore24 support.

For flights with a connection, only the arrival delay at the final destination (last airport on your booking) counts. If you miss your connection due to a delayed feeder flight but arrive only 2 hours late on a later flight, there is no claim. Only delays of 3 hours or more at the final destination trigger EU261 compensation. This was confirmed by the ECJ in case C-11/11 (Folkerts).

Yes. EU261 only treats flights as a single journey if they were booked on one reservation (one PNR/booking reference). With separate bookings (different booking references), each flight is treated as an independent journey. If you miss your connection because the first flight was delayed, the risk is yours.

In a codeshare arrangement, Airline A sells a ticket under its own flight number, but the flight is actually operated by Airline B. Under EU261, the operating carrier (the airline whose aircraft and crew actually operate the flight) is always responsible. This was clarified by the ECJ in case C-532/17 (Wegener). Your complaint must go to the operating airline, not the airline you booked with.

Your ticket may show two flight numbers: one from the booking airline (marketing carrier) and one from the operating airline (operating carrier). For your EU261 complaint, the operating carrier's flight number is the relevant one. You can find it on your boarding pass, in your booking confirmation (often marked as 'operated by'), or on flight tracking websites.

Compensation is based on the great circle distance between the first departure airport and the final destination — not the sum of individual segments. A flight Berlin → Munich → New York is calculated based on the Berlin → New York distance (approx. 6,400 km = EUR600), not Berlin → Munich plus Munich → New York.

Yes. EU Regulation 261/2004 protects the passenger — the person who actually flew. This applies regardless of who paid for the ticket. Even with company-paid tickets, the compensation belongs to the traveller.

Only if your employment contract or company travel policy contains an explicit assignment clause. This is common in the public sector. Check your employment contract or ask your HR department.

Yes, nationality is irrelevant. EU261 is route-based: all flights departing from an EU airport (any airline) and all flights arriving in the EU on an EU airline are covered — regardless of passport or residence.

Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland apply EU261 through bilateral agreements. The UK has an equivalent regulation (UK261) post-Brexit with amounts of GBP 220/350/520. Flights from these countries are covered.

Your data is used exclusively to create the complaint letter and is automatically deleted after 6 months. We do not sell data to third parties. Details can be found in our privacy policy.

Yes, the complaint letter is based on fixed templates. Only the individual incident description may be formulated with Mistral AI (France/EU). Since Mistral is based in the EU, no third-country data transfer takes place. In accordance with EU AI Act Art. 50, we transparently label AI-assisted content.