New EU laws may be costly for air passengers

New EU rules will give passengers just nine months to claim for a delayed or cancelled flight.

WOLVERHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM, November 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New EU rules will give passengers just nine months to claim for a delayed or cancelled flight. AirTravelClaim.com is urging anyone with unclaimed disruption from recent years to act now, before the change takes effect.

Air passengers who have had a flight delayed, cancelled or overbooked in the past few years are being urged to check whether they are owed compensation, after the European Union confirmed a new nine-month deadline for claims.

At the moment EU Regulation 261/2004 (EU261), the law that entitles passengers to up to €600 for a disrupted flight, contains no time limit of its own. The deadline is set by national law instead, and it varies widely. Passengers currently have two years in the Netherlands, three in Germany, five in France and Spain, and six in Ireland and in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

That patchwork is about to be replaced. The amending law, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, was published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026 and entered into force on 22 October. Most of its provisions, including the new claim deadline, will apply from 23 October 2027. From then on, passengers will generally have to claim within nine months of their flight.

Compensation stays the same, but the clock gets shorter
The reform keeps the core of passenger rights intact. Compensation is still €250, €400 or €600 per passenger depending on flight distance, and it is still triggered when a flight arrives three or more hours late, is cancelled at short notice, or a passenger is bumped. Airlines will also have to decide on a claim within 30 days.

What changes is the time passengers have to come forward. A claim that could be made five or six years after the flight today will, under the new rules, expire after nine months.

The sums at stake are not small. A family of four whose long-haul flight arrived more than four hours late could be owed up to €2,400, and many people never claim at all.

Steve Reid Passenger Advocate at AirTravelClaim.com, said:
"Most people don't claim the moment their flight lands. They get home, unpack, go back to work, and the delay becomes an annoying story rather than money they're owed. Under today's rules, that's often fine, because they have years to claim. Under the new rules, it won't be. We want every passenger with a disrupted flight in their inbox to check it now, while the longer deadlines still apply."

Older flights: an open question
One issue the new regulation does not settle explicitly is what happens to flights that took place before 23 October 2027. The European Consumer Centre in Italy says the current rules, including today's national deadlines, apply to any disruption up to 22 October 2027. However, legal commentators point out that the text itself does not spell this out, and some expect airlines to test whether older claims are out of time.

AirTravelClaim.com's advice is simple: claim before 23 October 2027. A claim lodged before the new rules apply is handled under the current regime, whichever interpretation eventually wins.

Steve Reid added:
"Nobody knows yet exactly how airlines and courts will treat a 2024 or 2025 delay once the new rules apply in October 2027. Some airlines may well argue that older claims are out of time. Passengers shouldn't have to gamble on that. If you think you're owed money, claim it now, and certainly before 23 October 2027."

What it means for British travellers
The change matters to UK passengers, even though the UK left the EU. EU261 still covers any flight departing from an EU airport, whatever the airline, and flights into the EU on an EU airline. That includes the return leg of most British holidays to Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy and France.
Flights departing the UK are covered by the UK's own version of the law, known as UK261. That has not changed, and claims under it can currently be brought up to six years after the flight (five in Scotland). Some journeys between the UK and the EU fall under both regimes, so passengers who are unsure which applies should check before assuming they are out of time.

Other changes coming in 2027
The deadline is not the only change. From 23 October 2027:
• If an airline doesn't offer a comparable replacement flight within three hours of a cancellation, passengers can book their own and recover up to 400% of the original fare.
• Refunds for cancelled flights must be paid automatically within seven days.
• Passengers who miss an outbound flight can no longer be refused boarding on their return flight for that reason alone.
• Every passenger will be entitled to bring a small personal item, such as a handbag or laptop bag, free of charge.
• A list of "extraordinary circumstances" that excuse airlines from paying compensation will be written into the law.
Five steps for passengers
1. Search your email for booking confirmations and airline messages from the past six years.
2. Note the flight number, date and how late you arrived at your final destination.
3. Keep receipts for meals, hotels or transport you paid for during the disruption.
4. Don't accept the airline's first explanation as final. Technical faults and staff shortages usually don't count as extraordinary circumstances.

Steve Reid
Air Travel Claim
+44 7912 021160
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