When the flight does not depart: delayed, cancelled or money back?
At a glance
If the aircraft departs in the end, however many hours late, the flight is normally delayed and not cancelled. The Court of Justice of the European Union has held that a flight which is delayed cannot be regarded as cancelled where the flight is operated in accordance with the air carrier's original planning, irrespective of the duration of the delay. Where the delay reaches at least five hours, Article 6(1)(iii) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 requires the operating air carrier to offer the assistance specified in Article 8(1)(a), that is, reimbursement within seven days of the cost of the ticket for the parts of the journey you have not made (and for parts already made, if the journey no longer serves any purpose), together with, where relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure. You may therefore ask to abandon the journey and have the money back instead of waiting any longer, but if you abandon the journey, it is uncertain whether you can also obtain compensation. Compensation is a separate question and is measured against the arrival time: if you reach your final destination three hours or more late, you may be covered, provided the conditions are met. The rules apply only if you fly from an airport in the EU/EEA, or to the EU/EEA with an airline registered there, and if you have a confirmed reservation and checked in on time.
In this article
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Another flight problemDelayed or cancelled: the original planning decides
The Regulation defines a cancellation as "the non-operation of a flight which was previously planned and on which at least one place was reserved" (Article 2(l)). It is a narrow definition, and it is not tied to any time limit.
The Court of Justice examined the question in Joined Cases C‑402/07 and C‑432/07, Sturgeon and Others v Condor Flugdienst GmbH and Böck and Lepuschitz v Air France SA, in which the Fourth Chamber delivered judgment on 19 November 2009. The first point of the operative part is clear: a flight which is delayed cannot be regarded as cancelled, irrespective of the duration of the delay, even if it is long, where the flight is operated in accordance with the air carrier's original planning. Sitting there for four, six or eight hours does not therefore in itself make the flight a cancellation.
The European Commission's interpretative guidelines on the Regulation point in the same direction, and add that a flight may experience such a long delay that it departs the day after it was scheduled and could still be considered a delayed flight. A changed flight number may suggest that the flight has been cancelled but, according to the guidelines, is not determinant on its own; the matter is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Why the classification matters to you
The distinction governs which rules are triggered. In the case of a cancellation, Article 5(1)(a) refers directly to Article 8, which sets out three options: reimbursement, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, and re-routing at a later date.
Where there is a delay at departure, Article 6 applies instead, and it builds a ladder: care on the spot first, and once the delay becomes long enough the route to reimbursement under Article 8(1)(a) opens. As for compensation, the Court in Sturgeon tied it to the loss of time on arrival: three hours or more after the arrival time originally scheduled for the final destination, and not to how long the aircraft stood at the gate.
The Article 6(1) ladder for a delay at the departure airport
- The threshold depends on the distance: two hours or more in the case of flights of 1,500 kilometres or less, three hours or more in the case of all flights within the EU of more than 1,500 kilometres and of all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, four hours or more in the case of all other flights (that is, flights of more than 3,500 kilometres to or from a country outside the EU).
- As soon as the carrier reasonably expects a delay that reaches the threshold, and at the latest when the threshold is reached: meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, plus two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails free of charge (Article 6(1), 6(2), 9(1)(a) and 9(2)).
- Where the reasonably expected time of departure is at least the day after the time of departure previously announced: hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation (Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c)).
- Where the delay is at least five hours: the assistance specified in Article 8(1)(a), that is, reimbursement of the ticket and, when relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure. Because every threshold above lies below five hours, that point is reached at a five-hour delay whatever the distance flown.
- Article 6(1) attaches no condition as to the cause of the delay, and the exemption in Article 5(3) is, by its wording, confined to compensation under Article 7.
The five-hour rule points to reimbursement, not to compensation
Article 6(1)(iii) refers expressly only to Article 8(1)(a). That provision concerns reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to your original travel plan, together with, when relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure at the earliest opportunity. It is the ticket money back, not the fixed amounts in Article 7.
Do not therefore run the two together. The amounts in Article 7 are a separate question which, following the Sturgeon judgment, is assessed against how late you reach your final destination, and which the operating air carrier may resist by relying on extraordinary circumstances. The text of the Regulation does not state expressly what becomes of the compensation question if, after five hours, you choose to abandon the journey and so never have an arrival time to measure against. It is therefore uncertain whether you can obtain compensation in that case. Weigh that against what you may obtain if you travel on. Put both matters in writing, and ask for reasons if the carrier says no to either of them.
Example: four hours at the gate and no information
You are flying within the EU over a distance of more than 1,500 kilometres. The threshold in Article 6(1)(b) is therefore three hours, and it was passed an hour ago. At the latest from that point the operating air carrier should have offered you meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, as well as the means to contact someone free of charge. The fact that nobody at the gate says anything does not change the obligation; the Commission's guidelines stress that the carrier is obliged to offer care actively rather than leaving passengers to make arrangements themselves. Keep your receipts if you buy food yourself.
If the wait stretches to five hours, you may instead ask to abandon the journey and obtain reimbursement under Article 8(1)(a). If you choose to travel on and land three hours or more after the original arrival time, you may be covered by the compensation rules, provided the conditions are met.
The amounts if you travel on and land late
If you abandon the journey after five hours, Article 8(1)(a) is about reimbursement of the ticket price. If you travel on and reach your final destination at least three hours late, any compensation is instead calculated according to the distance flown. For flights of more than 3,500 kilometres to or from a country outside the EU, the carrier may halve the amount if you arrive at least three but less than four hours late (Article 7(2)(c) and the Sturgeon judgment).
| Flight distance | Compensation level |
|---|---|
| Flights up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500–3,500 km (and longer intra-EU flights) | €400 |
| Flights over 3,500 km | €600 |
The amounts apply per passenger.
The airline may halve the amount if it offers rerouting that arrives no more than 2 hours (up to 1,500 km), 3 hours (1,500–3,500 km and longer intra-EU flights) or 4 hours (other flights over 3,500 km) after the original arrival time (Article 7(2)). For a delay on a flight over 3,500 km to or from a country outside the EU, the amount may also be halved if you arrive at least three but less than four hours late (Court of Justice, Sturgeon and Others, paragraph 63).
What to do while the aircraft stays on the ground
Work out which threshold applies
Check the distance and whether the flight is within the EU. That determines whether the threshold in Article 6(1) is two, three or four hours. The carrier must offer care as soon as it expects a delay of that length, and at the latest once that time has passed.
Timestamp the wait
Photograph information boards and gate displays showing the time, and keep text messages and push notifications from the carrier. That documentation makes it easier to show later how long you actually waited.
Ask expressly for the care
Ask staff expressly for meals and refreshments and, if departure is pushed to the next day, hotel accommodation and transport. If you are given nothing, buy it yourself and keep the receipts.
Invoke Article 8(1)(a) at five hours
At the five-hour mark, say expressly that you are relying on Article 6(1)(iii) and Article 8(1)(a) and wish to abandon the journey against reimbursement. If you are at a connecting airport, you can also ask for a return flight to your first point of departure. Bear in mind that it is uncertain whether you can obtain compensation if you abandon the journey. Ask for written confirmation before you leave the airport.
Document the arrival if you travel on
Note when the flight actually reached your final destination and compare it with the arrival time originally scheduled on your ticket. Keep boarding passes and timestamped photographs. That comparison is what the compensation question rests on.
Common questions when the flight does not depart
Article 6(1) measures the delay against the scheduled time of departure, that is, the time shown on your ticket. The fact that the carrier keeps pushing departure back and announcing new times does not move that starting point. Keep track of the original departure time, therefore, and count from there.
Article 6(1)(iii) refers only to Article 8(1)(a), the reimbursement option, not to the re-routing options in Article 8(1)(b) and (c). If the carrier offers re-routing anyway, ask for the offer in writing so that you can see what you are accepting. If the flight is formally cancelled, Article 5(1)(a) refers instead to Article 8 in its entirety, with all three options.
Not automatically. According to the Commission's interpretative guidelines, a changed flight number may be an indication that the flight has been cancelled, but it is not determinant on its own, and the matter is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. What is decisive, according to the Court of Justice, is whether the flight is operated in accordance with the air carrier's original planning.
Article 6(1) attaches no condition as to the cause of the delay, and the exemption in Article 5(3) is, by its wording, confined to compensation under Article 7, not to the care on the spot. Meals, refreshments and, where necessary, hotel accommodation and transport fall under Article 9, not under the question of cause. Ask for the care, therefore, whatever reason the carrier gives.
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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 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 · EUR-Lex · Regulation · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Judgment in Joined Cases C‑402/07 and C‑432/07, Christopher Sturgeon and Others v Condor Flugdienst GmbH and Stefan Böck and Cornelia Lepuschitz v Air France SA (Fourth Chamber, 19 November 2009) · EUR-Lex / Court of Justice of the European Union · Case law · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Commission Notice: Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and on Council Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 (C/2024/5687, OJ C, 25.9.2024) · EUR-Lex / European Commission · Authority · retrieved 2026-10-06