How Long Must a Flight Be Delayed for Compensation?
3 hours late at your final destination is the line under EU261, UK261 and Canada's APPR. Below it, none of the three pays compensation. The United States has no delay compensation at all; its threshold — 3 hours domestic, 6 hours international — only opens the right to a refund. What changes after the line differs by rule, and so does what counts as "late".
The thresholds side by side
| Rule | Delay that starts money | Measured at | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU261 | 3 hours (4 for the full long-haul sum) | Final destination | Sturgeon, point 2: "they reach their final destination three hours or more after the arrival time originally scheduled" |
| UK261 | 3 hours (4 for the full long-haul sum) | Destination airport | CAA: "you may be entitled to claim compensation if you arrive more than three hours late at your destination airport" |
| APPR | 3 hours, rising at 6 and 9 | Destination on the original ticket | s. 19(1)(a): "$400, if the arrival of the passenger at the destination that is indicated on the original ticket is delayed by three hours or more, but less than six hours" |
| US DOT | No cash; refund at 3 h domestic / 6 h international | Arrival against the original schedule | 14 CFR 260.2: "three hours or more for domestic itineraries and six hours or more for international itineraries" |
Passing the line is not enough on its own. EU261 and UK261 pay nothing when the airline proves the delay came from extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided (Article 5(3), applied to delays in Sturgeon). The APPR pays only when the delay was within the airline's control and not required for safety, and you learned of it 14 days or less before departure (s. 12(2)(d)).
EU261 and UK261: three hours at arrival, then a flat sum
The regulation itself only promises compensation for cancellations and denied boarding. The 3-hour rule for delays comes from the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (2009), which held that passengers who reach their final destination 3 hours or more after the scheduled arrival can claim the Article 7 amounts. For UK261 the CAA states the same threshold (quoted in the table above).
Two consequences follow from measuring at arrival:
- A flight that leaves 3 hours late but makes up time in the air and lands under the line pays nothing.
- The judgment speaks of the final destination, so the clock is read where the journey ends, not at the first airport where the delay shows.
Once over the line, and unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances, a longer delay does not add money: the amount is set by distance alone — €250, €400 or €600 under EU261, £220, £350 or £520 under UK261. The one exception is the long-haul band over 3,500 km (under EU261, flights to or from outside the EU), where arriving 3 to 4 hours late pays €300 (£260) and the full sum starts at 4 hours. Flights inside the EU over 1,500 km pay a flat €400 from 3 hours with no such step.
Worked examples
| Flight | Distance | Hours late | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris CDG to New York JFK, EU airline | 5,834 km | 2 h 30 min | nothing |
| Paris CDG to New York JFK, EU airline | 5,834 km | 3 h 30 min | €300 |
| Paris CDG to New York JFK, EU airline | 5,834 km | 4 h 30 min | €600 |
| Manchester to Málaga, UK airline | 1,862 km | 2 h 30 min | nothing |
| Manchester to Málaga, UK airline | 1,862 km | 3 h 30 min | £350 |
All of these assume the cause was not an extraordinary circumstance; if it was, no compensation is owed however long the delay.
Before the three-hour line: care, not cash
Meals and refreshments are owed earlier, from a departure delay of 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours on flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km (and, under EU261, on every flight inside the EU over 1,500 km) and 4 hours on longer flights (Article 6(1)), with a hotel when the new departure is the next day. Care is owed whatever caused the delay. At a departure delay of 5 hours or more you may give up the trip and take a refund of the ticket within 7 days (Articles 6(1)(iii) and 8(1)(a)).
Canada's APPR: three hours, then two more steps
The APPR uses the same 3-hour starting point, measured at the destination on the original ticket, but the money rises with the delay and depends on the airline's size:
| Arrival delay | Large airline | Small airline |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to under 6 hours | $400 | $125 |
| 6 to under 9 hours | $700 | $250 |
| 9+ hours | $1,000 | $500 |
A "large" airline carried at least 2,000,000 passengers worldwide in each of the two previous calendar years (s. 1(2)); the Canadian Transportation Agency names the large Canadian airlines as Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge), WestJet, Sunwing Airlines, Air Transat, Porter and Flair Airlines. Compensation is owed only when the delay was within the airline's control and not required for safety, and only if you learned of it 14 days or less before departure (s. 12(2)(d)); the written request must reach the airline within 1 year. Toronto to Vancouver with a large airline: $400 at 5 hours late, $700 at 7 hours.
United States: a refund threshold, not a compensation one
US law has no delay compensation. What 14 CFR 260.2 sets is the point at which a delay becomes a "significantly delayed or changed flight": arriving 3 hours or more late on a domestic itinerary, or 6 hours or more on an international one. Past that point, a passenger who declines the new flight is owed a full refund, within 7 business days on a card or 20 calendar days otherwise. Anything more depends on the airline's own published commitments, listed on the US DOT dashboard:
- Meal or meal voucher when the wait is 3 hours or more: 8 of the 8 airlines on this site (Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines).
- Cash compensation when the wait is 3 hours or more: none of the 8.
These are promises the airlines publish for delays within their control, not legal duties; each airline page shows the full list with its source.
When two rules apply
A flight can sit under more than one rule — a flight from Paris to Montreal falls under both EU261 and the APPR — but Canada's law bars receiving compensation twice for the same event (s. 86.11(3) of the Act). The threshold is 3 hours under both, so the choice is about the amount, not the timing. Each route page works out which rules cover that flight.
How long you have to make the claim is a different clock: see how far back you can claim.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EUR-Lex)
- CJEU, Joined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 Sturgeon (19 Nov 2009)
- Your Europe: Air passenger rights (European Union)
- CJEU, Case C-139/11 Moré v KLM (22 Nov 2012)
- Article 355(1) TFEU (EUR-Lex)
- UK Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
- UK Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 3 (legislation.gov.uk)
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: Delays
- Limitation Act 1980, section 9 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 (Justice Laws)
- Canada Transportation Act, s. 86.11 (Justice Laws)
- Canadian Transportation Agency: Flight delays, cancellations, rebooking, refunds and compensation
- 14 CFR 260.2 (eCFR)
- 14 CFR Part 260, Refunds (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 250.5 (eCFR)
- US DOT Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard (text version)
Rules checked 2026-10-20; the US significant-delay wording in 14 CFR 260.2 re-read on 2026-10-26.
Questions
How long does a flight have to be delayed before compensation is owed?
Under EU261 and UK261, 3 hours or more late at the final destination (Court of Justice, Sturgeon), unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. Under Canada's APPR, 3 hours or more late at the destination on the original ticket, when the delay is within the airline's control and not required for safety (ss. 12 and 19(1)). US federal law pays no cash for a delay at all.
Is a delay just under 3 hours enough?
No. The 3-hour line in EU261, UK261 and the APPR is a minimum, measured at arrival. A shorter delay can still earn meals and refreshments under EU261 and UK261, which start at a departure delay of 2, 3 or 4 hours depending on distance (Article 6).
Does a longer delay pay more?
Not under EU261 or UK261: the amount is fixed by distance once the threshold is passed, except that flights over 3,500 km (under EU261, those to or from outside the EU) pay €300 (£260 under UK261) between 3 and 4 hours late and the full €600 (£520) from 4 hours. Canada's APPR does rise with the delay: $400, $700 and $1,000 with a large airline at 3, 6 and 9 hours. Neither pays when the cause is outside the airline's control: extraordinary circumstances under EU261 and UK261; outside its control or required for safety under the APPR.
How long a delay before a US airline must refund the ticket?
3 hours or more on a domestic itinerary and 6 hours or more on an international one count as a significant change (14 CFR 260.2). If you decline the new flight, the fare is refunded. That is a refund, not compensation.