The treatment of delay by an airline in terms of EU law is similar to that of cancellation by an airline. There are two different tiers of entitlement that apply under EU law to delay by airlines. They apply in the following instances:
The tier that applies will depend on: i) how long in advance of your original flight booking the airline cancelled the flight and ii) what the time difference is between your new departure and arrival times and the original flight booking’s departure and arrival times.
For more information on flights which fall outside of EU law, see our ‘Cancellation and delay outside the application of EU law’ section.
The table below shows your entitlement under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 
should your flight be delayed.
| Distance of flight | Length of delay | Assistance |
|---|---|---|
|
All flights |
Overnight and more than 5 hours |
1) Meals and refreshments in proportion to waiting time 2) Two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes 3) Hotel accommodation and transfers 4) Reimbursement of ticket (if passenger decides not to travel) NB |
|
All flights |
More than 5 hours |
1) Meals and refreshments in proportion to waiting time 2) Two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes 3) Reimbursement of ticket (if passenger decides not to travel) NB |
|
Over 3500km (not within the EU) |
More than 4 hours |
1) Meals and refreshments in proportion to waiting time 2) Two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes |
|
A flight within the EU of greater than 1500km in distance, or any other flight between 1500 and 3500km |
More than 3 hours |
1) Meals and refreshments in proportion to waiting time 2) Two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes |
|
Up to 1500km |
More than 2 hours |
1) Meals and refreshments in relation to waiting time 2)Two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes |
NB If you decide not to travel, you are entitled to a refund, within seven days, of the parts of the tickets not used. If it is a connecting flight and you have already made part of the journey and do not want to continue with it, you are entitled to reimbursement of the total price of the ticket (including parts of the journey already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to your original travel plan) within seven days, and a free flight back to point of departure. You are not entitled (under Regulation 261/2004) to reimbursement of any other components of your trip, such as hotel and transfer costs.