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Diverted flight: your rights when you land at another airport

If your flight lands at another airport that serves the same city or region, the airline must offer and pay your transport to the airport you booked or to a nearby place you agree on (Regulation 261/2004, article 8(3)). It counts as a delay, not a cancellation: compensation is owed if you reach your destination 3 hours late or more.

Checked 9 Oct

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Another airport in the same city or region

The Court of Justice decided on 22 April 2021 (C-826/19) that such a flight is not cancelled. The airline must offer the transfer on its own, without you having to ask, and pay for it. If it doesn't, you can claim back what you paid to get to the airport you booked.

How the delay is measured

The delay counts until you actually reach, after the transfer, the airport you booked or the nearby place agreed with the airline (C-826/19). If that is 3 hours or more after the planned arrival, compensation is owed under the usual rules, unless extraordinary circumstances caused it.

An airport far from your destination

If the plane lands somewhere that doesn't serve the same city or region, the transfer rule above doesn't apply and your rights depend on what happened next. Keep every message from the airline and all receipts, and use the free check: it looks at when you actually arrived.

Claiming on your own, for free

You can claim for free without us: write to the airline first. If it refuses or doesn't answer, you can complain to the national enforcement body (in Romania, ANPC) or ask the European Consumer Centre in your country for help (in Romania, ECC Romania), also for free. It makes sense to come to us when the airline has refused or ignored your claim, or when you would rather not deal with it yourself.

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Questions

Does the airline owe me food or a hotel?

Under EU and UK rules, yes, while you wait for a delayed or cancelled flight: meals and drinks in proportion to the wait, and a hotel with transport if you are stuck overnight. That is separate from compensation.

How far back can I claim?

It depends on the country whose courts would hear the claim. On many EU routes it is several years. The check tells you for your flight.

What does FlyHandled cost?

Checking your flight is free. If we handle the claim, the fee is 25% of what the airline pays, VAT included, plus 15% only if it goes to court, and nothing if it pays nothing.

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