What happened
- Proactive Notification: Airlines must alert passengers if they may be owed cash compensation and provide clear instructions on how to claim it within four days of arrival.
- Faster Payouts: Airlines must acknowledge claims immediately and pay within 30 days or provide a justification for refusal.
- Rerouting: Airlines must offer rerouting within three hours of a cancellation; if they fail to do so, passengers can arrange their own rerouting and claim reimbursement up to 400% of the original ticket price.
- No-Show Protection: Airlines can no longer deny boarding on the return leg if a passenger no-shows on the first leg of a trip. The existing cash compensation amounts remain unchanged: 250 euros for flights up to ,1500 km, 400 euros for intra-EU flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 00 euros for all other flights. These protections apply to passengers flying within the EU, to the EU on an EU airline, or from the EU on any airline
EU leaders have agreed to a series of updates to the decades-old EU261 passenger rights framework, aimed at making it easier for travelers to receive compensation for flight delays and cancellations. Key changes include: