Delayed or missed connection outside the EU: when EU261 still applies

Leaving from the EU. Article 3(1)(a) covers passengers departing from an airport in the territory of a Member State, whatever airline operates the flight. The Commission's Interpretative Guidelines add that the Regulation is applicable to Iceland and Norway under the EEA Agreement and to Switzerland under its air transport agreement with the EU (footnote 20). The Guidelines are the Commission's interpretation and do not bind the courts.

Arriving in the EU from outside. Article 3(1)(b) covers passengers departing from an airport in a third country to an airport in a Member State only if the operating air carrier of the flight concerned is a Community carrier, and not if they received benefits or compensation and were given assistance in that third country. The Commission describes this as an EU carrier, one licensed in a Member State (Guidelines, section 2.1.1).

Outbound and return are two journeys. In Emirates (C-173/07), a passenger booked Düsseldorf–Dubai–Manila and back in one booking. The return flight from Manila was cancelled. The Court held that Article 3(1)(a) does not apply to the return flight from a non-member country, and that the single booking makes no difference (paragraphs 13–14, 47 and 50–53). Whether the Regulation applies on the way home therefore depends on Article 3(1)(b) and on who operated the flight.

Wegener (C-537/17). A passenger held one booking Berlin–Casablanca–Agadir with Royal Air Maroc, with a change of aircraft in Casablanca. The first flight left late and she was refused boarding on the second, arriving in Agadir four hours late (paragraphs 5–6). The second flight was made entirely outside the EU. The Court said that if it were a separate transport operation the Regulation would not apply, but that transport under a single booking must be considered as a whole, with its point of departure in a Member State (paragraphs 15 and 18–24). It held that the Regulation applies to transport under a single booking comprising, between departure from an EU airport and arrival at an airport in a third State, a scheduled stopover outside the EU with a change of aircraft (paragraph 25).

The delay is counted at the end. In Folkerts (C-11/11) the reservation was Bremen–Paris–São Paulo–Asunción. The Court held that a delay of three hours or more is assessed against the scheduled arrival time at the final destination, which for directly connecting flights is the destination of the last flight (paragraphs 32–35). The compensation does not depend on how late the first flight left (paragraphs 37–38 and 47). Article 2(h) defines the final destination in the same way.

What this does not mean. The judgments say the Regulation can apply. They do not mean every hub delay leads to compensation. The usual conditions remain: a confirmed reservation and check-in as required (Article 3(2)), arrival three hours or more late, and no extraordinary circumstances that the airline can prove. For how arrival time is counted, see how flight delay is calculated.

To be plain: if your flight from, say, Bangkok, Singapore or Bali to the EU is operated by a non-EU airline, the Regulation normally does not apply to it. Article 3(1)(b) requires a Community carrier, and Emirates (C-173/07) holds that a return flight cannot be brought in through the outbound departure, even on a single booking.

That is about EU261 only. Other rules in other countries may apply to your situation; they are outside this guide, and Airlate does not assess them.

If an EU airline operates the flight into the EU, Article 3(1)(b) may apply. The judgments covered here concern journeys that depart from the EU, so itineraries mixing carriers on the way home need to be looked at one by one.

Everything above assumes one booking. If you bought two separate tickets, for example a flight to Istanbul and a separate flight onward, the first flight is assessed on its own and the delay is measured at the transfer airport. See separate tickets and a missed connection. If you were refused boarding at the hub on a single booking, see denied boarding on a connecting flight.

Extraordinary circumstances. The airline does not owe compensation if it proves that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken (Article 5(3), applied to long delay by the Court; Folkerts, paragraph 43). A hub outside the EU does not change that test. See when the airline cites extraordinary circumstances.

Re-routing and care. Articles 8 and 9 set out reimbursement or re-routing and free meals, hotel accommodation and transport, and Article 6 sets the waiting times by distance. The judgments covered in this guide concern compensation and do not decide how Articles 8 and 9 apply at a hub outside the EU. Keep receipts either way. See meals, hotel and care during delays.