Flying between the US and Europe: your rights under EU261

Updated 24 October 2026
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.

Your flight between the United States and Europe arrived 3 hours or more late, was cancelled, or you were bumped. US rules usually give you no compensation for that. European rules often do, and they apply to American passengers exactly as they apply to Europeans. Your nationality and where you live do not matter. What matters is where the flight left from and which airline operated it.

Which transatlantic flights are covered

EU Regulation 261/2004 (EU261) covers, under Article 3(1):

• Every flight departing from an airport in the EU, on any airline. Delta, United and American Airlines flights from Europe to the US are covered.
• Flights from outside the EU into the EU, but only when an EU airline operates them. Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, Finnair, SAS, Iberia, Aer Lingus and other EU airlines are covered from New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. A US airline flying into Europe is not.

Norway and Iceland apply the same rules through the EEA agreement, and Switzerland through its air transport agreement with the EU. The United Kingdom has its own copy, UK261: it covers flights from the UK on any airline, and flights into the UK on a UK or EU airline. See UK flight compensation.

Examples:

• Finnair Helsinki to New York: covered, it departs from the EU.
• Delta Amsterdam to Atlanta: covered, it departs from the EU.
• Lufthansa Chicago to Frankfurt: covered, an EU airline flying into the EU.
• United Washington to Frankfurt: not covered, a US airline flying into the EU.
• Delta New York to Amsterdam: not covered, a US airline flying into the EU.

The airline that operates the flight decides it, not the one that sold the ticket. A Delta-numbered flight flown by KLM into Amsterdam is covered. See codeshare flights and US airlines on flights to Europe.

How much you can get

For flights over 3,500 km, which is every flight between the US and mainland Europe, the amount is €600 per passenger, whatever you paid for the ticket. Children with their own seat count as passengers.

• Delay: you are owed compensation when you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late (Sturgeon C-402/07).
• Cancellation: compensation is owed unless the airline told you at least 14 days ahead, or offered a new flight close to your original times.
• Bumped (denied boarding): compensation is owed at once.
• Rerouted and between 3 and 4 hours late: the airline may cut the €600 in half (Article 7(2)).

Compensation is separate from a refund, meals and a hotel. See refund or compensation.

The airline does not owe it if the cause was an extraordinary circumstance, such as a storm or an air traffic control restriction. A technical fault is usually not one (Wallentin-Hermann C-549/07), and neither is a strike by the airline's own staff (Airhelp v SAS C-28/20). See extraordinary circumstances.

Connecting flights

On one booking, the whole trip counts as one journey, and the delay is measured at your final destination. A journey that starts in Europe stays covered even if the delay happens on a US domestic leg. Coming from the US, a delay on the first leg can still count if an EU airline flies a later leg on the same booking. See transatlantic connecting flights.

What US rules give you instead

US Department of Transportation rules give no fixed compensation for delays. Since 2024, airlines must refund the fare automatically if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel. On international flights, a significant change means 6 hours or more earlier or later, among other things (14 CFR part 260). DOT withdrew its plan for delay compensation in November 2025. See EU261 vs US rules.

How to claim from the US

Claim from the airline in writing first, in English. If it refuses or does not answer, the next step is a national complaint body or a court in Europe, not in the US. Some bodies are easier for US residents than others. See how to claim EU261 from the US.

Rules change on 23 October 2027, when an amended regulation applies. Until then, everything on this page applies. See EU261 reform 2027.

When the airline says no

Appeal My Flight makes the reply to the airline and the complaint for the right body from standard texts and your answers, for €29 per booking, however many passengers. The price is charged in euros and your card converts it. You send it yourself and keep all of the payout. We are not a law firm and cannot promise an outcome. Not sure about the airline's reason? Try the free rejection checker.

FAQ

I am a US citizen living in the US. Can I claim under EU261?

Yes. EU261 protects passengers on covered flights, whatever their nationality or home country.

My flight from New York to Paris on Delta was 5 hours late. Am I covered?

No. Delta is a US airline, and EU261 covers flights into the EU only when an EU airline operates them. On the way back from Paris, Delta is covered.

Is it €600 or $600?

The regulation sets it in euros: €600 per passenger. Airlines usually pay in euros or convert at the day's rate.

Got the airline's reply? Paste it into the rejection checker and see what court rulings say about their excuse.