EU261 is the European rule that gives passengers fixed cash payments when a flight gets cancelled with short notice. It covers flights leaving from an EU airport or arriving into the EU on a European carrier. The money is separate from any refund or free rebooking you also get to choose.

You can usually claim if the airline told you about the cancellation less than 14 days before the planned departure. There are a couple of exceptions. If they offered a replacement that left no more than two hours earlier and arrived no more than four hours later (or tighter windows when notice was under seven days) the compensation may not apply. Extraordinary circumstances also block the payment. That means things like severe weather, air traffic control strikes, or security issues that the airline could not reasonably prevent.

The amount depends only on the distance of the flight, not on what you paid for the ticket. Flights up to 1500 km pay 250 euros per person. Between 1500 and 3500 km, or any longer flight inside the EU, the figure is 400 euros. Anything over 3500 km outside the EU reaches 600 euros. Sometimes the sum gets halved if the alternative flight they offered still got you there reasonably close to the original arrival time.

To apply you need a few basic documents. Keep the original booking confirmation with the flight number and date, any cancellation email or message from the airline, and your boarding pass if you already had one. A photo of the departure board showing the cancelled status helps. Bank details for the payment, preferably an IBAN, speed things up. Submit the claim straight to the operating airline through their online form or customer service channel. Write clearly that you are claiming under Regulation 261 for the cancelled flight and state the amount you expect.

Most airlines take a few weeks to reply. If they refuse or stay silent you can take the case to the national enforcement body in the country where the flight was due to leave. The right belongs to every passenger on the booking, including children. Keep copies of everything you send.