Flight Delayed or Cancelled? What You're Owed

These rules come from the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150) and 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.

If the airline rebooks you in a higher class of service than you paid for, it cannot charge you for the upgrade. If it rebooks you in a lower one, it owes you the difference in price.

If your aircraft is held on the tarmac, the airline has to keep conditions liveable: working washrooms, proper ventilation and temperature control, food and drink within reason, and a way to communicate with people outside the aircraft where that is feasible.

After three hours at a Canadian airport the aircraft must generally return to a gate so passengers can get off, with exceptions for safety, security, air traffic control and customs. It may stay out up to 45 minutes longer if takeoff is likely within that time and the required treatment continues.

Where compensation is owed under these regulations, it has to be offered in monetary form. A voucher can replace it only if all of this holds: the voucher is worth more than the monetary amount, it never expires, you are told the monetary value in writing, and you agree in writing.

A delay does not qualify for compensation by itself. Whether anything is owed depends on what caused the disruption, how much notice you were given, and how late you reached your final destination.

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.

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.