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HOME / PASSENGER RIGHTS / CANCELLED FLIGHT
CNX-261 UNDER EUROPEAN PASSENGER-RIGHTS LAW

Cancelled flight? up to €600 + a refund + a new flight.

If the airline cancelled your flight less than 14 days before departure, you're stacking compensation on top of your refund or rebooking, not instead of it. People miss this all the time.

YOUR FLIGHT
CANCELLED
FROM
VIE
Vienna
TO
AYT
Antalya
FLIGHT
QS-1142
ISSUE
CANCELLED
OWED TO YOU
€600
DEPARTURES · GATE B12
QS-1142 ● CANCELLED
FR-247 ● ON TIME
OK-672 ● BOARDING
THE RULES · WHEN THE LAW APPLIES

When am I owed money?

The short version of a 30-page regulation. We made it readable so you can self-qualify in under a minute.

✓
Cancelled less than 14 days before departure
The 14-day window is the magic line. Inside it, compensation is on top of your refund. Outside it, you usually still get the refund, just no extra cash.
OWED
✓
You weren't offered a re-route that gets you there on time
If they rebook you on a flight arriving within hours of your original, they may avoid the compensation. If it's worse, you get paid.
OWED
✓
Cancellation was within airline control
Crew sickness, IT systems, technical faults, all on them, all compensable.
OWED
?
Refund vs. rebooking, pick what suits you
You always have a choice: a full refund (we'll help recover it) OR a re-route to your destination. Compensation comes on top either way.
DEPENDS
PAYOUT CALCULATOR

How much is your route worth?

Compensation is calculated by the great-circle distance of your booked route, not how long you actually waited.

Short-haul (under 1,500 km)
€250
Medium-haul (1,500 – 3,500 km)
€400
Long-haul (over 3,500 km)
€600
DISTANCE OF FLIGHT
2,000 km
≈ Warsaw → Athens
200 km8,000 km
YOU MAY BE OWED
€400
PER PERSON · TAX-FREE
Confirm with my actual flight →
WHAT TO DO AT THE AIRPORT

If this is happening to you right now…

A quick checklist. Snap these in the next 10 minutes and the rest is up to us.

01
Take a screenshot of the cancellation email

Note the date sent, this anchors the 14-day rule.

02
Save your original itinerary

Departure/arrival times you'd booked. Compare against what they offered.

03
Refuse vouchers before reading

Some carriers offer travel vouchers instead of cash. You don't have to accept, the law gives you the right to cash.

04
Keep receipts for any rebooking

Hotels, meals, transport, if you had to spend, save the receipts. Reimbursable on top.

THE FINE PRINT (HONEST)

When you won't get paid.

We'd rather tell you upfront than waste your time. The law has carve-outs, "extraordinary circumstances" the airline isn't liable for. These are the big ones.

Even if your case looks like it falls under one of these, send it our way. The line between "extraordinary" and "ordinary" is where most of our wins live, airlines lie about it all the time.

×
Cancelled 15+ days in advance
Plenty of notice = no compensation. You're still owed the refund or rebooking, though.
×
Extraordinary circumstances (legitimate)
Volcanic ash, war, real strikes, narrow but valid defenses.
×
You no-showed for the rebooking
If they offered a fair alternative and you skipped it, you weaken your claim.
×
Award tickets on some carriers
Most loyalty-program tickets are still covered. A few aren't. We'll check yours.
OTHER WAYS WE PAY YOU
READ UP BEFORE YOU CLAIM
MIDDLE EAST · 2026
Flight cancelled because of the Middle East situation: when the airline doesn't have to pay, and when it does
Airspace closure due to a military conflict really does fall under extraordinary circumstances, so the €250–€600 statutory compensation isn't payable by the airline. This is one of the few situations where that excuse actually holds. But your right to a full refund of the ticket, or to a replacement flight, doesn't disappear. And if the airline tries to force a voucher on you instead of cash, you don't have to accept it. Insist on a refund to your account.
Read the guide →
Passenger Rights
Extraordinary circumstances – when you are not entitled to compensation
EU Regulation 261/2004 lets airlines refuse compensation when a flight was disrupted by so-called extraordinary circumstances. Weather, ATC strikes, bird strikes or an unexpected technical fault outside the airline's control can all qualify. But not every refusal is valid – airlines routinely misuse this defence. This article explains, based on Court of Justice of the EU case law, which situations are truly extraordinary and which are not.
Read the guide →
WEATHER · EXCUSES
Weather delays: when it's an excuse and when it's a real extraordinary circumstance
Weather is the excuse we hear most often. But not every weather event is created equal. De-icing in winter is a routine, predictable procedure. The airline has to plan for it, and if it makes you over three hours late, the entitlement to compensation stands. A real extraordinary circumstance is a closed runway because of extreme fog, or wind a pilot can't safely fly through.
Read the guide →
ONE LAST THING

Your flight was ruined.
Make it pay.

Two minutes. Free. No credit card. We'll tell you in 24 hours whether you have a claim, and exactly how much.

Start free claim → OR EMAIL air@refundio.eu