Delay Payout

Distance bands / 1,500 to 3,500 km

12 routes · medium-haul

Flights 1,500 to 3,500 km

Flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km — most of Europe's holiday routes and the shortest transatlantic hops in North America — pay €400 under EU261 and £350 under UK261 from 3 hours late.

1,500 km3,500 km1234
  1. 1Band edge 1,500 km
  2. 2Band edge 3,500 km
  3. 3EU261 €400
  4. 4UK261 £350
LAX–CUN3,407 kmYYZ–YVR3,346 kmMAN–TFS3,048 kmSFO–ORD2,964 kmYYZ–CUN2,605 kmJFK–CUN2,506 kmLHR–ATH2,427 kmBOS–MIA2,028 kmMAN–AGP1,862 kmLHR–HEL1,848 kmYVR–LAX1,741 kmLGW–FAO1,688 km
Great-circle distance of each route in this band, computed from airport coordinates. Bars to scale from zero.
EU261
€400
UK261
£350
Care from
3 h
Half if re-routed within
3 h

What the band pays

What happenedEU261UK261
Arrived 3+ hours late€400£350
Cancelled at short notice or bumped€400£350
…re-routed, landing within 3 hours€200£175

The middle band is where the EU and UK texts differ most. EU261 puts every flight inside the EU over 1,500 km in its own category, so on the EU side this band holds mainly flights that cross the EU border; UK261 has no such category, so UK–Spain, UK–Greece and UK–Canary Islands flights all land here under both rules.

Routes in this band

The shortest route here is London to Faro at 1,688 km and the longest is Los Angeles to Cancún at 3,407 km. 5 of the 12 touch a UK airport, and 5 touch an EU airport; 4 are purely North American, where the band has no effect because neither EU nor UK rules apply.

RouteDistanceRules that can apply
LGW–FAO London–Faro1,688 kmUK261, EU261
YVR–LAX Vancouver–Los Angeles1,741 kmAPPR, US DOT
LHR–HEL London–Helsinki1,848 kmUK261, EU261
MAN–AGP Manchester–Málaga1,862 kmUK261, EU261
BOS–MIA Boston–Miami2,028 kmUS DOT
LHR–ATH London–Athens2,427 kmUK261, EU261
JFK–CUN New York–Cancún2,506 kmUS DOT
YYZ–CUN Toronto–Cancún2,605 kmAPPR
SFO–ORD San Francisco–Chicago2,964 kmUS DOT
MAN–TFS Manchester–Tenerife3,048 kmUK261, EU261
YYZ–YVR Toronto–Vancouver3,346 kmAPPR
LAX–CUN Los Angeles–Cancún3,407 kmUS DOT

Care while you wait

In this band, EU261 and UK261 require meals and refreshments once the departure is 3 hours late, and a hotel plus transport when the new departure is the next day. The duty applies even when the delay is caused by weather or air traffic control, because care is separate from compensation. If the airline does not provide it, buy what is reasonable, keep receipts and claim the cost back with the compensation claim.

Other bands

Source: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EUR-Lex); UK Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 7 (legislation.gov.uk); distances from airport coordinates (see methodology). Checked 2026-10-20.