The airline says ‘we have already paid you’: what does it mean?
At a glance
‘Already paid’ does not say what was paid. A ticket refund, a payment for meals and compensation under Article 7 are different things. Even where compensation was paid, the amount may be too low, and a lower compensation accepted without proper information does not stop you going further (Article 15(2)).
Article 7 v Article 8
compensation and a refund of the ticket are two different claims in the regulation
Article 7(2)
compensation may be cut by 50 per cent only if the time limits are met
Article 12(1)
compensation already paid may be deducted from further compensation
In this article
Check your compensation
Free preliminary check. You can change your choice later.
Another flight problemFirst: what was actually paid?
The ticket price is a refund. It follows from Article 8 and has nothing to do with compensation. Taxes and charges belong there too, see refund of taxes and charges.
Meals, hotel and transport are care. That is governed by Article 9. That the airline paid for a hotel does not mean compensation has been settled.
Compensation is a separate amount. It is calculated per passenger by the length of the flight, not by what the ticket cost. Read more in refund versus compensation.
| What the airline paid | What it covers | What may remain |
|---|---|---|
| The ticket price | A refund under Article 8(1)(a), within seven days. | Compensation under Article 7 is a separate claim and may remain. |
| Meals, hotel or transport | Care under Article 9. | Compensation under Article 7, if the other conditions are met. |
| An amount the airline calls compensation | Compensation under Article 7, if it matches the distance. | The difference, if the amount is below the right band or the reduction had no basis. |
| A voucher or a ‘gesture’ | Depends on what the offer covered and on your consent (Article 7(3)). | See you accepted a voucher. |
If it was compensation: four checks
1. The right band? Article 7(1) sets EUR 250 up to 1,500 kilometres, EUR 400 for intra-Community flights over 1,500 kilometres and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, and EUR 600 for all other flights. The distance is measured by the great circle method (Article 7(4)), as the crow flies rather than along the route flown. If it is measured to the wrong final destination, the amount lands in the wrong band.
2. Was the reduction justified? Article 7(2) allows compensation to be cut by 50 per cent on re-routing under Article 8, only if arrival is no more than two hours (up to 1,500 km), three hours (over 1,500 km within the Community and 1,500 to 3,500 km outside it) or four hours (all other flights) after the scheduled time. The Court has applied the reduction to delays, with the necessary adaptations (Sturgeon, C-402/07, paragraph 63), but expressly for Article 7(2)(c): flights not covered by (a) or (b) and a delay of three to four hours. For shorter flights, a delay beyond two or three hours respectively gives no basis for halving.
3. Per passenger? The amounts apply to each passenger. If one amount was paid for the whole booking, divide it by the number of travellers before comparing.
4. The right cause? The airline may still argue extraordinary circumstances for the part that remains. That is assessed separately, see disputing a rejection.
Example: EUR 200 for a flight of 1,800 kilometres
Your 1,800 km flight between two EU countries (an intra-Community flight of more than 1,500 km) lands 3 hours 30 minutes late. The airline pays EUR 200 and writes that it has already paid. The band for the distance is EUR 400 (Article 7(1)(b)). The halving under Article 7(2)(b) requires arrival no more than three hours after the scheduled time, and here it is 3 hours 30 minutes. The conditions are not met, so EUR 200 of the EUR 400 may remain, provided the airline cannot show extraordinary circumstances. If two of you travelled, the amounts are EUR 400 each and the difference is counted per person.
A deduction is not the end of the claim
Article 12(1) says compensation granted under the regulation may be deducted from further compensation. That concerns compensation beyond Article 7, such as an individual loss, not Article 7 compensation itself. The Court has said that Article 12(1) imposes no obligation to deduct but does not prevent it either (Rusu, C-354/18, paragraph 44). What was paid may therefore be deducted from a further claim, but that does not make the rest of the Article 7 compensation fall away. The amounts in Article 7(1) are standardised sums meant to compensate damage that is largely the same for all passengers (paragraphs 28 and 30).
And if you already accepted the amount?
A yes is not always final. If you were not properly informed of your rights and therefore accepted lower compensation than the regulation provides, Article 15(2) leaves you able to bring proceedings to obtain additional compensation.
The airline must have informed you. For a delay of two hours or more, and for a cancellation, each passenger concerned must receive written notice of the rules on compensation (Article 14(2)). Keep what you received. How it is assessed in your case is for a court or competent body.
How we check the amount
We sort the payment
We find out what the airline actually paid for: the ticket, care or compensation.
We measure the distance
We calculate the great circle distance to the last destination at which the flight causes a delayed arrival and compare it with the bands in Article 7(1).
We test the reduction
We check whether the time limits in Article 7(2) were met, time by time.
We count per person
We divide the amount and the booking among the travellers concerned.
We pursue the case
After you submit and accept the terms, Airlate handles the claim manually and deals with the airline on your behalf. If the assessment holds, we can take it further, under the terms also through alternative dispute resolution or court. No outcome can be promised, and if the airline does not pay, no service fee is charged under the Fee Policy.
What you get to keep
Every company that pursues claims keeps part of the compensation. This is how much of €600 is left for you, according to the companies' own price lists.
What you keep of €600
Of the five companies we compared, you keep the most with Airlate, both when the claim is settled directly and when it goes on to legal process.
| Company | Without legal process | With legal process |
|---|---|---|
| Airlate | €450 | €360 |
| Flyghjälp (Flightright) | €420 | €330 |
| AirAdvisor | €420 | €300 |
| AirHelp | €390 | €300 |
| Skycop | €336 | €300 |
Want to know how it works?
We assess free of charge whether your flight may be covered. If you submit a claim and accept the terms, Airlate handles the claim manually.
Frequently asked questions
You can, if the amount is below the band for the distance, or if a reduction was made without the conditions of Article 7(2) being met.
The regulation treats care (Article 9, to be offered free of charge) and compensation (Article 7) as separate rights with their own headings. We have found no support for care reducing the Article 7 amount.
We have found no support for any such obligation. Article 12(1) allows compensation already paid to be deducted, and a claim is then for the difference.
Check your compensation
Free preliminary check. You can change your choice later.
Another flight problemShow all 3 sources
Every factual statement in this article rests on one of the sources below: EU regulations, judgments of the EU Court of Justice and the authorities' own pages.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 (Articles 7, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 15) · EUR-Lex · Regulation · retrieved 2026-10-15
- Judgment in Joined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07, Sturgeon and Others (Fourth Chamber, 19 November 2009) · EUR-Lex / Court of Justice · Case law · retrieved 2026-10-15
- Judgment in Case C-354/18, Rusu v Blue Air (Eighth Chamber, 29 July 2019) · EUR-Lex / Court of Justice · Case law · retrieved 2026-10-15
Related guides
- Refund or compensation: two separate rights, not an either/or
- Taxes, charges and booking fees: what is included in the reimbursement?
- Can you claim more than the fixed sum? Article 12 and further compensation
- A voucher instead of money: do you have to accept it?
- The airline says ‘you accepted a voucher’: what does it mean?
- Meals, hotel and care during a flight delay
- How flight delay is calculated: arrival time is what counts
- The airline said no: how to dispute a refusal