Refund or compensation: two separate rights, not an either/or
At a glance
A refund means getting back what you paid for the ticket, for the part of the journey you did not make and, in some cases, for parts already flown. Compensation under the EU rules is a separate, fixed amount for the inconvenience of the disruption itself. They are two different rights under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004: a refund sits in Article 8, compensation in Article 7, with different conditions, and one does not rule out the other.
When a flight is cancelled you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to both at the same time: a refund of the unused ticket and separate compensation for the cancellation.
This is not legal advice, and the outcome always depends on the facts of your flight.
In this article
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Another flight problemTwo separate rights, not an either/or
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 keeps two things apart. Article 8 gives you a choice: a refund of the ticket, or re-routing to your final destination, either at the earliest opportunity or at a later date that suits you. Article 7 sets out fixed compensation amounts, calculated by flight distance, for the disruption itself.
For a cancellation, Article 5(1) gives you both the Article 8 choice and the right to compensation under Article 7; if you are denied boarding against your will, Article 4(3) does the same. One therefore does not rule out the other, even though each has its own conditions. A refund puts you back where you started financially; compensation is a separate payment for the time and trouble the disruption cost you.
This is why "do I get a refund or compensation?" is often the wrong question. Depending on what happened, the answer can be one, the other, or both.
Refund and compensation at a glance
- Refund (Article 8(1)(a)): the money you paid for the ticket, returned within seven days for the parts of the journey you have not made, and for parts already made if the journey no longer serves any purpose; where relevant, together with a return flight to your first point of departure. It is one of the options you choose between; the others are re-routing at the earliest opportunity or at a later date that suits you.
- Compensation (Article 7): a separate fixed amount for the disruption itself, set by flight distance, not linked to what the ticket cost.
- Different conditions: you can choose a refund after a cancellation, if you are denied boarding against your will, or if your departure is delayed by at least five hours; compensation depends on further conditions, including extraordinary circumstances and, for cancellations, how far in advance you were told and what re-routing you were offered.
- Not mutually exclusive: after a cancellation, or if you are denied boarding against your will, you may be entitled to both.
Scenario: a cancelled flight with no re-routing on offer
Your flight is cancelled and the airline cannot offer you a re-routing that works, so you decide not to travel. Under Article 8 you may choose a refund of the ticket instead of re-routing. The refund puts back what you paid for the journey you did not make.
That refund is only half the picture. The cancellation itself may, under certain conditions, also entitle you to compensation under Article 7: a separate payment for the disruption, unaffected by the refund of your ticket.
So in a single cancelled-flight case you could be looking at two distinct payments: the ticket money back, and compensation on top. Whether the compensation applies depends on further conditions set out below.
The compensation amounts in brief
Compensation under Article 7 of the EU rules is a fixed amount that depends primarily on the flight distance. It is not the same as, and is separate from, a refund of the ticket price.
| 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).
A refund does not always mean compensation is due
The two rights turn on different conditions, so they do not always travel together. You may be entitled to a refund of the ticket after a cancellation and still not be entitled to compensation, for example if you were told of the cancellation at least two weeks before departure; or between two weeks and seven days before and were offered a re-routing leaving no more than two hours before your original departure time and arriving less than four hours after your original arrival time; or less than seven days before and were offered a re-routing leaving no more than one hour early and arriving less than two hours late (Article 5(1)(c)). Nor is compensation due if the airline can prove that the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken (Article 5(3)).
The reverse is also true. Choosing to be re-routed rather than refunded does not, on its own, remove a possible right to compensation for the disruption. If the re-routing gets you to your final destination no more than two, three or four hours after the original arrival time, depending on the flight distance, the airline may however reduce the compensation by 50 % (Article 7(2)). The refund question and the compensation question are answered separately, on their own conditions.
What to keep so you can pursue both
Your booking
- Booking confirmation with the booking reference
- Boarding pass, or a screenshot of the digital pass in the airline's app
- Proof of what you paid for the ticket, for the refund side of the claim
The disruption
- The cancellation notice: the text, email or app message, showing when you were told
- Any re-routing offered, and whether you accepted or declined it
- A note of the reason the airline gave, which bears on whether compensation is due
Frequently asked questions
You may. They are two separate rights under the EU rules (a refund of the ticket under Article 8 and compensation for the disruption under Article 7), and one does not rule out the other. After a cancellation, or if you are denied boarding against your will, you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to both. Whether compensation applies depends on further conditions, such as how far in advance you were told of a cancellation, what re-routing you were offered and whether extraordinary circumstances were involved.
After a cancellation, not automatically. The choice between re-routing and a refund sits in Article 8; the right to compensation sits in Article 7 and is assessed separately. For a cancellation, Article 5(1) gives you both, and if you are denied boarding against your will, Article 4(3) does the same. Taking the refund of your ticket does not, on its own, remove a possible right to compensation for the cancellation.
A delay is different. Compensation for a delay is measured on how late you reach your final destination, and the Regulation does not state expressly what happens to compensation if you abandon the journey after five hours and so never arrive. It is therefore uncertain whether you can obtain compensation in that case.
No. Compensation under Article 7 is a fixed amount set by flight distance, not linked to what the ticket cost. A refund returns the ticket price under Article 8. They are different rights, calculated in different ways. The terms are not interchangeable.
It can, if the delay at departure reaches at least five hours. Article 6(1)(iii) then requires the airline to offer the assistance in Article 8(1)(a), so you may choose to abandon the journey and have the ticket refunded instead of travelling on. Compensation is a separate question: under the Sturgeon judgment of the EU Court of Justice, a delay can give a right to compensation if you reach your final destination three hours or more after the original arrival time, provided the other conditions are met. If you abandon the journey you never arrive, and it is uncertain whether compensation is then still due. Weigh that before you decide.
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Another flight problemShow all 2 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, Articles 4–8 · EUR-Lex · Regulation · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 November 2009, Sturgeon and Others, Joined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 · EUR-Lex / Court of Justice of the European Union · Case law · retrieved 2026-10-06