Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 Rules reviewed 19 July 2026

Create an EU261 flight compensation claim letter

Answer questions about your journey and download a ready-to-send A4 claim letter requesting up to €600 in fixed compensation. No account is required, and LegalDocsBuilder does not store your answers or document.

Supported launch scope. This generator supports qualifying delayed or cancelled journeys that began at an airport in the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. It supports any operating airline and certain single-ticket connections, including journeys ending outside Europe. It does not currently generate UK261 claims or claims for journeys that began outside the supported territory.

When can EU261 fixed compensation apply?

Under EU261, as interpreted by the EU courts, a passenger may be entitled to fixed compensation when a covered journey reaches its final destination at least three hours late or is cancelled without sufficient notice. The usual amounts are €250, €400 or €600 per eligible passenger, based on direct distance from first origin to final destination. Cancellation notice, rerouting and extraordinary circumstances can change the result.

Which arrival time counts?

Arrival delay is measured when at least one aircraft door opens and passengers are permitted to leave—not when the aircraft lands. For a supported single-ticket connection, the relevant delay is at the ticketed final destination.

Does an airline-stated reason decide the claim?

An airline is not excused merely by using a label such as “weather,” “technical problem,” “air traffic control” or “strike.” To avoid compensation, it must prove an extraordinary event meeting the legal test, a direct causal link and that the disruption could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Because the necessary evidence is often held by the airline, this generator may produce a conditional claim rather than a final eligibility verdict.

What does this letter leave out?

This letter requests fixed compensation only. Reimbursement, rerouting, meals, accommodation, communications and necessary transport are separate rights and are not calculated here. Those rights may exist even where extraordinary circumstances defeat fixed compensation.

Current law and adopted reform. Rules reviewed 19 July 2026. The EU has adopted reforms to air-passenger-rights law, but those reforms are not yet applicable. This generator uses the current Regulation 261/2004 rules and current court authority. The future application date depends on publication in the Official Journal and the final act’s commencement provisions.

Build your compensation claim

Everything runs in your browser—nothing is uploaded or stored. Fields marked * are required.

Claimant information

Frequent-flyer and publicly available reward tickets are not excluded merely because points or miles were used.

Journey information

Use the operating carrier, not branding alone, the ticket seller or a travel agent.

Coverage and distance use the first airport in the journey, not a connection airport.

Prior payment and supporting details

A reason label is not treated as a final extraordinary-circumstances determination.

Leave blank to request a response within 14 days.

Copies available to attach Optional

Keep copies of your evidence and attach only copies—not original documents—when useful.

General legal information only. This service does not provide legal advice, guarantee payment, decide disputed evidence or calculate the court deadline that applies in every country.

Your answers are used only to create the document in this session. No account is required, and LegalDocsBuilder does not store your answers or generated letter.