Houston IAH to Amsterdam AMS delay compensation

George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is 8,049 km by great circle, United States to Netherlands. Under EU261 that is €600 per passenger, and under UK261 £520, when the rule applies and you arrive 3+ hours late.

1Houston IAH
2Amsterdam AMS
3Great circle 8,049 km
4EU261 band €600

IAH–AMS on the distance scale used by EU261 and UK261, to scale: bands end at 1,500 and 3,500 km.

Great-circle distance

8,049 km

EU261 band

€600

UK261 band

£520

US refund after

6 hours

Which rules cover IAH–AMS

Houston → Amsterdam

Whatever the airline, this direction is covered by US DOT (the flight departs from the United States (14 CFR 260.2, "covered flight")). On an EU airline it is also under EU261. On a UK airline it is also under UK261. If the airline refuses, the complaint goes to the US DOT for the refund, Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate for EU261 (the flight arrives in Netherlands from outside the EU) or the airline's dispute scheme or the UK CAA for UK261.

Amsterdam → Houston

Whatever the airline, this direction is covered by EU261 (the flight departs from the EU (Article 3(1)(a)), whatever the airline) and US DOT (the flight arrives in the United States (14 CFR 260.2, "covered flight")). If the airline refuses, the complaint goes to Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate for EU261 (the flight leaves Netherlands) or the US DOT for the refund.

Because both EU and UK rules can reach this route, a passenger may find two rules covering the same trip. Each excludes people already compensated under the other's law for the same event, so the claim is made once, under whichever the airline accepts — in money terms €600 or £520.

What you could be owed by hours late

Arrival delay at AMS (or IAH on the return), for a delay caused by the airline, per passenger, where each rule applies:

Hours late	EU261	UK261	US DOT
2 hours	€0	£0	Nothing
3 h 30 min	€300	£260	Nothing
4 h 30 min	€600	£520	Nothing
6 h 30 min	€600	£520	Refund if you decline
9 h 30 min	€600	£520	Refund if you decline

At 8,049 km this is a long-haul flight, so the first hour of compensation is reduced: arriving 3 to 4 hours late pays €300 or £260, and the full €600/£520 starts at 4 hours. The US column is the refund right only: an international itinerary needs 6+ hours.

How Houston IAH runs

In June 2026, 73.6% of reporting airlines' flights arriving at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and 70.3% of those departing were on time (within 15 minutes), against 72.9% and 70.7% across the 30 largest US airports, according to the US DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report. Arrivals here ran at or above that average. The figures cover all reported flights at the airport, mostly domestic, not this route alone.

The distance and the band

EU261 and UK261 measure distance "by the great circle route method" between the departure airport and the final destination. From the published coordinates of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (29.9844, -95.3414) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (52.308601, 4.76389) that is 8,049 km. The nearest band boundary is 3,500 km, 4,549 km below this route, so the band is not in doubt. Among the 148 routes on this site in the over 3,500 km band, it is number 23 by length.

Other routes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) on this site: London (7,763 km), Paris (8,071 km), Frankfurt (8,402 km).

Other routes from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (EHAM) on this site: London (370 km), Edinburgh (666 km), Barcelona (1,241 km), New York (5,848 km), Dubai (5,169 km), San Francisco (8,786 km), Atlanta (7,066 km), Detroit (6,324 km), Minneapolis (6,685 km), Boston (5,548 km), Chicago (6,612 km), Los Angeles (8,956 km), Seattle (7,840 km), Toronto (5,990 km), Paris (399 km), Rome (1,297 km), Prague (705 km), Copenhagen (633 km), Lisbon (1,846 km), Athens (2,182 km), Florence (1,058 km).

If IAH–AMS is only one leg of your booking, measure to the final destination instead: a connection that makes you late at the end is compensated over the whole journey's distance.

If the flight is cancelled

Cancelled with less than 14 days' notice and re-routed to arrive 6 hours late, an EU261 passenger is owed €600 here. If the replacement left within the allowed early margin and landed within the re-routing window, nothing is owed; if it landed within 4 hours but outside those windows, the airline may pay half — €300. On a cancellation you may instead take a refund within 7 days.

Help at the airport while you wait

On a flight of this length, meals and refreshments are owed once the departure is 4 hours late under EU261 and UK261, and a hotel with transport if you have to stay overnight — whatever caused the delay. US law sets no meal or hotel duty; the large US airlines' published commitments do, and they are on the airline pages. Keep receipts for anything you buy: it is claimed back separately from any compensation.

Claiming on this route

Claim from the operating airline directly — it costs nothing.

US DOT: If it refuses, file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection office.

EU261: If the airline does not reply within two months, or the reply is unsatisfactory, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the incident happened.

UK261: If the airline's final answer is unsatisfactory, or it has not answered within eight weeks, go to the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body the airline belongs to, or to the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team if it belongs to none.

Claim pages of airlines based in United States or Netherlands (whether they fly this exact route varies by season):