Flight cancelled or delayed? See what you can ask for.
Four taps. It covers the US refund rule and the EU passenger regulation, for tickets bought from the airline.
Meals and a hotel
“A controllable flight cancellation or delay is essentially a delay or cancellation caused by the airline. Examples include: maintenance or crew problems; cabin cleaning; baggage loading; and fueling.”
US Department of Transportation, Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard
“If your flight is experiencing a long delay or is cancelled, ask airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room or compensate you for your time. While some airlines offer these amenities to passengers, others may not provide amenities to stranded passengers.”
US Department of Transportation, Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard
Your card
What your airline has promised
Good to know
Refund request
What to keep
- The cancellation or delay notice (screenshot the app or the email).
- Your booking confirmation and ticket number.
- Receipts for meals, hotel and transport.
- The times: scheduled and actual departure and arrival.
- Any offer of rebooking or a voucher, and what you answered.
The rules' own words
“A covered carrier that is the merchant of record must provide a full and prompt refund of the airfare, including any taxes and ancillary fees, as set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section to a consumer that holds a nonrefundable ticket on a scheduled flight to, from, or within the United States for any cancelled flight or significantly delayed or changed flight where the consumer chooses not to:”
14 CFR 260.6(a)(1)
“The consumer is scheduled to arrive at the destination airport three or more hours for domestic itineraries or six or more hours for international itineraries after the original scheduled arrival time;”
14 CFR 260.2
“the refund must be issued promptly in the original form of payment”
14 CFR 260.10
“to passengers departing from an airport located in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies;”
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 3(1)
“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”
Article 8(1)
“when the delay is at least five hours, the assistance specified in Article 8(1)(a).”
Article 6(1)
“meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time;”
Article 9(1)
“An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.”
Article 5(3)
“Extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where the impact of an air traffic management decision in relation to a particular aircraft on a particular day gives rise to a long delay, an overnight delay, or the cancellation of one or more flights by that aircraft, even though all reasonable measures had been taken by the air carrier concerned to avoid the delays or cancellations.”
Recital 15
“If an airline cancels a passenger’s flight or makes a significant change in the flight, regardless of the reason, airlines are required to provide a prompt refund to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets, should the passenger choose not to accept the alternative offered, such as rebooking on another flight.”
US Department of Transportation, Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard
US rule: 14 CFR part 260, text of 1 November 2026, at ecfr.gov. EU regulation: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as adopted. Read on 13 November 2026. Where this page says more than a quote, it is this page's reading. The EU has been working on a revision of this regulation; this page quotes the 2004 text and has not confirmed whether a new text is in force. Airline commitments: US Department of Transportation dashboard, last updated 11 September 2025, read on 13 November 2026.