Skip to content

What counts as extraordinary circumstances

Extraordinary circumstances are events the airline does not control and could not have avoided even with every reasonable measure: weather that makes flying unsafe, air traffic control restrictions, a security threat or a bird hitting the plane. Then no compensation is owed. A technical fault found in maintenance or a strike by the airline's own staff is not extraordinary, so the money stays owed.

Checked 9 Oct

Check your flight for free

Enter the flight number and the date. We tell you what you are owed.

What you can get under EU Regulation 261/2004
Flight distanceCompensation per person
Up to 1,500 kmup to €250
Between 1,500 and 3,500 kmup to €400
Over 3,500 kmup to €600

A flight over 3,500 km between two EU airports falls in the middle band: up to €400. If you are offered a new flight that arrives close to the original time, the amount can be halved (article 7(2)).

Usually extraordinary

Weather that makes the flight unsafe at the airports or on the route; air traffic control decisions, including strikes by air traffic controllers; an airport closure or a security threat; political unrest; a bird hitting the plane (Court of Justice, C-315/15).

Usually not extraordinary

Technical problems found in maintenance or caused by a missed check (Court of Justice, C-549/07); a strike by the airline's own pilots or cabin crew (C-28/20); not enough crew; a delay carried over from the plane's earlier flight, unless that earlier flight was itself held up by an extraordinary event (C-74/19).

The airline has to prove it

The airline has to prove the event and that it took every reasonable measure to avoid the delay or cancellation. Ask for the reason in writing. Airport weather reports (METAR) and EUROCONTROL's delay data are public, so the reason can be checked.

How we check it

Before you sign anything, FlyHandled reads the weather reports and the air traffic data for your flight's day and tells you whether a refusal for weather or air traffic looks likely.

Other flight problems

Questions

The airline wrote “weather conditions”. Does that mean I get nothing?

Not necessarily. Weather counts only if it made your flight unsafe and the airline could do nothing reasonable about it. If other flights left the same airport normally, the reason is worth checking.

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.

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.

Sources12
All flight guides