Flight cancelled, what now? The action plan for the first 60 minutes

Step 1: you choose — rebooking or your money back

When a flight is cancelled, the choice is yours, not the airline's. Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 gives you three options: an alternative flight as soon as possible, an alternative flight at a later date that suits you, or a refund of your ticket within 7 days.

If you still want to reach your destination, ask at the desk or in the app for the earliest possible rebooking — including on another airline if it flies sooner. If your trip no longer makes sense, choose the refund and say explicitly that you want money, not a voucher.

Step 2: care — food, drinks and a hotel if needed

While you wait for your replacement flight, the airline must look after you (Article 9): meals and refreshments in reasonable proportion to the waiting time, plus two phone calls or emails.

If you have to stay overnight, that includes a hotel and the transport there and back. If the airline arranges nothing, book something reasonable yourself and keep the receipts: you can claim those costs back.

Step 3: record everything while you still can

Five minutes of collecting evidence now saves weeks of argument later. Take screenshots of the cancellation email or push notification (with the timestamp), of your boarding pass and of the departure board.

Keep every receipt for food, hotel and transport, and note the reason the gate staff give. Feel free to ask them to put that reason in writing — you are not entitled to it, but it is a nice bonus.

The 14-day rule: often compensation on top

Beyond rebooking or a refund, you often have a right to compensation as well. If you were told about the cancellation less than 14 days before departure, the distance bands of Article 7 apply (via Article 5) — unless the airline offered an alternative close to your original times, or there genuinely were extraordinary circumstances:

• €250 for flights up to 1,500 km
• €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km
• €600 for other flights over 3,500 km

Extraordinary circumstances — and why the weather excuse can be tested

The airline only escapes compensation in extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures — think extreme weather or closed airspace. The burden of proof is on the airline, not on you.

Bad weather is the most common argument, and it is exactly the one you can verify: we put the excuse next to the official METAR weather observations from both airports around your flight times. If the airline says storm while the records show calm weather, your claim simply stands.

Start your claim: free check, result in 2 minutes

You do not have to wade through the regulation yourself. Enter your flight number and date in our free check and within 2 minutes you see whether your flight looks claimable and for what amount.

We work no cure no pay: only if the compensation actually arrives do we charge 30% including VAT. If nothing comes, you pay nothing — and if the check rules out your flight, you know that right away too.

Did you have a claim pending with EUclaim? Read what to do now →

Common mistakes in the first hour

Accepting a voucher blindly: a voucher instead of a refund is only allowed with your written consent, and you trade hard cash for credit with strings attached. Sign nothing whose consequences you cannot oversee.

Queueing or phoning endlessly: your rights do not lapse because you never reached the desk. Handle the essentials in the app and the rest calmly at home.

Waiting to claim until the dust settles: your claim will not expire today, but evidence does disappear. The sooner you record and check, the stronger your case.