Cancelled flight: refund and compensation compared

A refund gives back the ticket price. Compensation is a fixed sum on top, set by distance: €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 for longer EU flights and for 1,500 to 3,500 km, €600 beyond that.

When an airline cancels, it has to offer three choices: reimbursement plus a return flight on connecting tickets, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing later at your convenience. Once you pick one you lose the other two, though the airline may still owe compensation.

Timing decides the money. Informed more than 14 days ahead, you get nothing extra. Between 14 and 7 days, no payout if the offered flight leaves at most 2 hours earlier and lands less than 4 hours later. Under 7 days, the limits tighten to 1 hour earlier and less than 2 hours later.

If you accepted re-routing and arrived 2, 3 or 4 hours late, the sum can be halved to €125, €200 or €300. Airline cancellations caused by extraordinary circumstances are excluded, and the airline has to prove when you were told, so keep the notification email.

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