Air passenger rights laws
A disrupted flight is often covered by two statutes at once — the country you left and the country the airline belongs to — and they rarely pay the same. These are the five that matter most, each with what it pays, what triggers it, the defences airlines raise, and a link to the law itself.
- EU261 — EU261 gives air passengers €250, €400 or €600 when a flight arrives three or more hours late, is cancelled with less than fourteen days' notice, or boarding is denied.
- UK261 — UK261 gives passengers £220, £350 or £520 when a flight arrives three or more hours late, is cancelled at short notice, or boarding is denied.
- the Aviation Services Law — Israel's Aviation Services Law gives passengers ₪1,530, ₪2,450 or ₪3,670 by distance when a flight is cancelled, or when departure is delayed or brought forward by more than eight hours.
- US DOT rules — The United States has no statutory compensation for a delayed flight, however long it lasts.
- the APPR — Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations pay CA$400, CA$700 or CA$1,000 for a delay that is within the airline's control, according to how late you finally arrive.
- the Montreal Convention — The Montreal Convention covers almost every international flight on earth and makes the airline liable for baggage and for damage caused by delay.
- Article 120 of the Air Code — Russian law pays 100 roubles for each full hour of delay, capped at half the fare.
- the SHY-Passenger Regulation — Türkiye's passenger rights regulation mirrors the European bands: €250, €400 or €600 by distance on an international flight, and a flat €100 on a domestic one.
- the DGCA CAR — India pays cash for cancellation and denied boarding, not for delay.
- ANAC Resolution 400 — Brazil pays a fixed sum only for denied boarding: 250 SDR on a domestic flight and 500 SDR on an international one, in cash at the airport.
- the CAAT passenger rules — Thailand pays 2,000, 3,500 or 4,500 baht by distance, but only on an international flight and only once the delay reaches ten hours — the highest threshold of any statute here.
- Ministerial Regulation PM 89 — Indonesia prices delay directly: 300,000 rupiah once a flight is more than four hours late, flat, whatever the distance is.
- the GACA customer protection rules — Saudi rules pay 50 SDR for a delay of three to six hours and 150 SDR beyond that.