Skip to content
FlyingWith

Flight Delayed or Cancelled? What You're Owed

6 min readOfficial rules last verified

When a flight is delayed or cancelled, the first hour matters most: seats on other flights go quickly, and what you're entitled to depends on where you're flying and why the flight was disrupted. This guide separates what helps everywhere from the official rules that apply in specific places — with links to the government pages so you can check the current details yourself.

Part of: Flying for the First Time, Flying for Business, Flying Solo

General advice — applies wherever you fly

At the gate: the first 30 minutes

Don't just join the longest line. Seats on other flights go to whoever asks first, and the gate queue is rarely the fastest way to get one.

  1. Open your airline's app or website and look for a rebooking option — many airlines offer alternatives there before gate agents do.
  2. Call the airline while you're standing in line. If the usual number has a long wait, try the airline's number for another country.
  3. Ask what caused the disruption and write down the answer, with the time and the name or ID of the person who told you. The cause affects what you may be owed.
  4. Screenshot the departure board, delay notifications and any messages from the airline.
  5. Keep every receipt for food, transport and hotels while you wait.

General advice — applies wherever you fly

Rebooked, refunded, or waiting it out?

Before you accept the first alternative, check its arrival time — not just its departure time — and whether it adds a connection. If you're travelling with children, have a medical need or a tight onward connection, say so: it's a legitimate reason to ask for a different option.

If the trip no longer makes sense — you'd miss the event you were travelling for, for example — ask specifically for a refund rather than a travel credit. A credit isn't the same as a refund, and the official rules below spell out when a refund is owed.

If you booked through a travel agency or booking site, the airline may send you back to them for changes. Contact both, and keep a note of who told you what.

Official rules — Canada

Canada: the Air Passenger Protection Regulations

These rules apply to flights to, from and within Canada. What you're owed depends on whether the disruption was within the airline's control, within its control but required for safety, or outside its control (bad weather, for example).

Compensation is only owed when all of these are true: the delay or cancellation was within the airline's control and not required for safety; you were told about it 14 days or less before departure; you arrived at your final destination 3 hours or more late; and you claim it in writing from the airline within 1 year.

For large airlines, compensation is $400 for arriving 3 to 6 hours late, $700 for 6 to 9 hours, and $1,000 for 9 hours or more. For small airlines it is $125, $250 and $500 (all in Canadian dollars).

If the rebooking the airline offers no longer meets your travel needs, it must refund the unused portion of your ticket. Rebooking timelines differ between large and small airlines and between types of disruption — the Canadian Transportation Agency's page sets them out.

Official rules — United States

United States: refunds, not fixed delay compensation

For flights to, from or within the United States, Department of Transportation rules focus on refunds. If your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you don't accept another flight or a credit, you're entitled to a refund — and airlines must now issue it automatically instead of waiting for you to ask.

A significant change includes, among others, a domestic flight departing at least 3 hours earlier or arriving at least 3 hours later than scheduled, or an international flight whose departure or arrival moves by at least 6 hours.

Refunds must be issued within 7 business days for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payment methods. US rules don't set a fixed cash amount for delays; anything airlines offer beyond a refund comes from their own policies, which DOT summarizes on its cancellation and delay dashboard.

Official rules — European Union

European Union: fixed compensation by distance

EU rules cover flights within the EU on any airline, flights departing the EU on any airline, and flights arriving in the EU on an EU airline. They also apply in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

If you reach your destination 3 or more hours late, or your flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, compensation is €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500 to 3,500 km, and €600 beyond 3,500 km. It can be halved when the rerouting offered gets you there within a set time.

Airlines don't owe compensation if they can prove the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances that couldn't have been avoided, such as bad weather, air traffic management decisions or security risks. The right to care — meals and refreshments, and a hotel and transport to it if you have to stay overnight — is a separate obligation from compensation.

General advice — applies wherever you fly

Claiming what you're owed

  1. Write to the airline first, even if you've already complained in person. Include your booking reference, flight number and date, what happened, what you're asking for, and copies of receipts.
  2. Keep it short and factual, and save a copy of everything you send.
  3. In Canada, if the airline doesn't resolve your complaint within 30 days, you can file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency. For the US and EU, the official pages below explain the next step.
  4. Be careful with claim companies that keep a share of your compensation: you can claim directly from the airline yourself.

Official sources

Rules and amounts change. Before you rely on anything marked as an official rule, check the source — these are the official pages we used.

Related guides

Related scenarios

Flying for the First TimeFlying for BusinessFlying Solo