“Passengers will keep the right to compensation for flight delays over three hours, but will also get new rights — from free seating next to a child to mandatory hand luggage included in the basic ticket price,” — this is how the consumer organization dTest commented on the decision, which the EU Council finally approved on July 30, 2026. The reform of air transport rules, which had been unchanged for over twenty years, was negotiated for 13 years.
What stayed unchanged — and this is the main victory for passengers
Airlines and some member countries lobbied to raise the delay threshold for compensation from three hours to four to six hours. The proposal was rejected. Compensation remains the same:
250 euros — for flights up to 1,500 km;
400 euros — for flights from 1,500 to 3,500 km;
600 euros — for long-haul flights.
Payment is due for delays over three hours, flight cancellations less than 14 days before departure, or denied boarding due to overbooking. The rules apply to all flights from EU airports, as well as flights to the EU if operated by a European carrier. So your status or citizenship does not matter — Ukrainians have the same rights.
What new rights appeared
The new rules remove a number of “small tricks” airlines used, which passengers regularly encountered:
Hand luggage included in the ticket price. At least one piece of hand luggage must be included in the basic fare — by agreement, up to 7 kg and up to 100 cm total in three dimensions. The full ticket price must be shown from the start of booking, without hidden extra fees at the final step.
Ban on the no-show rule. Airlines can no longer cancel your return ticket if you did not use the first outbound segment. Previously, this was standard practice: if you missed the flight one way, you lost the return ticket too.
Families will sit together for free. Children under 14 get a guaranteed seat next to the accompanying adult without extra charge. The same applies to pregnant women and people with disabilities traveling with an escort.
End of small fees. It is forbidden to charge for correcting a passenger’s name typo or for printing a boarding pass at the airport — the same fee Ryanair was once famous for.
How the compensation procedure will change
The numbers explain why the system was changed at all: in 2024, delays and cancellations affected about 287 million passengers in Europe, but less than 10% of those entitled claimed compensation. And 52% of claims were illegally rejected by airlines. People either did not know their rights or gave up after the first refusal.
The new rules reverse the process logic. Now the passenger does not have to look for forms on the carrier’s website; the airline must provide the affected passengers with pre-filled compensation claim forms and inform them of their rights within four days after the trip ends. There is a nine-month deadline to submit a claim. The airline will have 30 days to pay the money or provide a written refusal with reasons and information on where to complain next. No app or account registration will be required.
A long-standing battleground — “extraordinary circumstances” — was separately addressed. Airlines used these (weather, strikes, birds in the engine) to avoid paying, and every dispute had to be settled in court. Now the European Commission will publish an open list of such circumstances and update it regularly. It will become noticeably harder to reject a claim by saying “technical failure is force majeure.”
When it will take effect and what to do now
The EU Council gave final approval on July 30 — after the European Parliament supported the reform almost unanimously in January: 632 votes “for” versus 15. The rules will come into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU and will start to be applied in practice during 2027.
Until then, the old rules of Regulation 261/2004 apply — and they already give the right to the same 250–600 euros for delays over three hours. So if your flight was delayed this summer, don’t wait for the reform: you can submit a claim today. Keep your boarding pass, record the actual arrival time (the important time is when the plane doors open, not landing), and demand a written confirmation of the delay reason from the carrier.
