The Runway Decides Whether Your Delay Pays, Not Your Passport

The Runway Decides Whether Your Delay Pays, Not Your Passport

Who owes you cash for a late flight depends on the airport you left and the airline that flew it, so here is the map by region and carrier.

Marieke van der Velde

Photo David Vincent Villavicencio / Unsplash

Two passengers in the same three-hour delay can walk away owed 600 euros or owed nothing. Compensation follows the route and the metal, not you: what decides it is the airport you left and whose plane flew you.

The map:

EU (EU261): leave an EU airport and any airline owes you, 250 to 600 euros by distance at three hours late. Flying in, only an EU carrier owes you.
UK (UK261): the same machine in pounds, 220 to 520, claimable up to six years in England and Wales.
Brazil (ANAC 400): touch a Brazilian airport and you're covered, but the cash comes from a courtroom, moral damages a judge sets.
US: no delay-compensation regime, only a refund if you abandon the trip.

This month's EU reform keeps these numbers. No airline pays until you file, but the deadline is friendlier than the gate agent.