Flight Delayed or Cancelled? Your Rights as an Air Passenger
If your flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked, EU rules give you concrete rights: care, rerouting and in many cases cash compensation of up to €600. This guide covers when you are entitled to what — and how to claim it yourself without giving a claims agency a cut.
Delayed flight: when are you entitled to compensation?
If you arrive at your final destination more than three hours late, EU Regulation 261/2004 can entitle you to cash compensation: €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and €600 for longer flights. The compensation depends on the distance and the length of the delay — not on your ticket price.
Already during the wait you are entitled to care: food and drink in reasonable proportion to the waiting time, and for long delays a hotel and transport if an overnight stay becomes necessary. Keep every receipt if the airline does not arrange things itself.
The rules apply to all departures from an EU airport — regardless of airline — and to arrivals into the EU with an EU carrier. Danish claims can generally be raised several years back, so even old delays can be worth money.
Cancelled flight: refunds, rerouting and compensation
If your flight is cancelled, you always have the choice between a refund of the ticket and rerouting on another departure. That choice is yours — the airline cannot fob you off with a voucher unless you prefer one.
On top of the refund or rerouting, you may be entitled to the same compensation as for delays — unless the airline notified you of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure, or offers rerouting that is close in time to your original journey.
If you are stranded en route, the rights to care, hotel and transport apply until the airline has flown you onwards. Pay out of pocket if you must, and keep the documentation.
EU Regulation 261/2004: when is the airline off the hook?
The airline does not have to pay compensation if the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided — for example severe weather, closed airspace, or strikes outside the airline’s control, such as airport staff.
But the exception is narrower than airlines often present it: technical faults are, as a clear starting point, not extraordinary — and neither are strikes among the airline's own staff. The burden of proof sits with the airline: it must document both the circumstance and that it could not have been avoided.
If you get a rejection citing "operational circumstances" or similar, ask for a concrete justification. Vague wording often hides situations that do, in fact, trigger compensation.
Delayed or lost baggage: what you can claim
Baggage cases are governed by the Montreal Convention. If your suitcase is lost, damaged or delayed, you can claim compensation for your documented loss up to the convention's cap, which is adjusted over time.
Two things are urgent: report the problem at the airport with a PIR report before leaving the terminal, and send a written claim to the airline — typically within 7 days for damaged baggage and 21 days for delayed baggage. Miss the deadlines and the claim can be lost.
While your baggage is delayed you can buy reasonable necessities — toiletries and essential clothing — at the airline’s expense. Keep the receipts, and supplement with your travel or contents insurance, which often covers more.
Package holidays: defects, price reductions and insolvency
If you bought flight and hotel together, you are typically protected by the Danish Package Travel Act (pakkerejseloven) — and your counterpart is the tour operator, not the airline. If the trip does not live up to the agreement, you may be entitled to a remedy, a price reduction or compensation.
Complain about defects immediately on the spot, so the operator gets the chance to fix them — and follow up in writing. If you cannot agree, the case can be brought before the Package Travel Complaints Board (Pakkerejse-Ankenævnet).
If the operator goes bankrupt, the Travel Guarantee Fund (Rejsegarantifonden) generally covers prepayments and repatriation when the trip was bought from a registered operator.
How to complain: from the airline to the Danish CAA (Trafikstyrelsen)
Always start with the airline: send a written claim with your booking number, documentation of the delay and your account number. Use the airline's claim form if one exists, and set a reasonable response deadline.
If the airline rejects or does not answer, you can complain to the Danish Civil Aviation Authority (Trafikstyrelsen), which handles complaints about flights from Danish airports and certain arrivals. Filing costs a small fee, which is typically refunded if you win.
Claims agencies often take a substantial share of your compensation as their fee. The process is built for you to handle yourself — for free. If the case is complicated, you can still get help along the way.
Frequently asked questions about flights and travel
€250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500–3,500 km and €600 for longer flights — if you arrive more than three hours late and the delay was not caused by extraordinary circumstances.
For extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided — for example severe weather or closed airspace. Technical faults and strikes among the airline's own staff generally do not qualify, and the airline carries the burden of proof.
Danish claims generally only expire after several years, so older delays can still trigger compensation. Dig out your old booking confirmation and send the claim to the airline in writing.
Report it at the airport with a PIR report before leaving the terminal, then send a written claim — within 21 days for delayed baggage and 7 days for damaged. Keep receipts for necessary purchases.
No. You can send the claim to the airline yourself and then complain to Trafikstyrelsen for a small fee if the airline refuses. Claims agencies typically take a substantial share of the compensation for the same work.
Yes, when the flight departs from an EU airport — there the rules apply regardless of the airline’s nationality. Flying INTO the EU from a third country, they generally only apply with an EU carrier.
Where to complain
The airline → the Danish Civil Aviation Authority (Trafikstyrelsen)
Package holidays go to the Package Travel Complaints Board (Pakkerejse-Ankenævnet) instead, and if the operator goes bankrupt, the Travel Guarantee Fund (Rejsegarantifonden) steps in.
Send a written claim to the airline with your booking and documentation of the delay
Keep boarding passes, receipts and all correspondence
Rejected or no answer? Complain to Trafikstyrelsen (small fee, typically refunded if you win)
Package holiday? Complain to Pakkerejse-Ankenævnet — and to Rejsegarantifonden on bankruptcy