EU rewrites air passenger rights: new compensation, baggage and delay rules

Air travellers across the European Union will get clearer compensation rules, stronger baggage rights and a new right to leave an aircraft stuck on the tarmac under Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series) on 2 October 2026. The regulation, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 16 September 2026, amends Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 on compensation and assistance in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and Council Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 on air carrier liability for passengers and their baggage. It enters into force on the twentieth day following publication and applies from 23 October 2027.

The text closes a legislative process that ran through conciliation: the joint text was approved by the Conciliation Committee on 15 June 2026, followed by the European Parliament’s legislative resolution of 7 July 2026 and the Council’s decision of 13 July 2026. It was signed at Strasbourg on 16 September 2026 by the Presidents R. METSOLA and T. BYRNE. The regulation keeps the existing architecture but adds legal definitions of “flight”, “connecting flight”, “journey”, “delay at arrival” and “extraordinary circumstances”, and confirms that schedule changes give rise to the same rights as cancellations or delays.

Compensation, delays and denied boarding

• EUR 250 for journeys of 1 500 kilometres or less; EUR 400 for intra-Union journeys of more than 1 500 kilometres and other journeys between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres; EUR 600 for all remaining journeys.
• Compensation is due when arrival at the final destination is delayed by more than three hours; the EUR 600 tier may be reduced by 50 % if arrival is within four hours of the scheduled time.
• Passengers denied boarding against their will must be compensated within seven calendar days, with refreshments granted immediately.
• A delay at departure of five hours triggers reimbursement, and a tarmac delay of two hours obliges the carrier to return to the gate so passengers can disembark.
• Passengers who miss a connecting flight under a single air transport contract must be rerouted within five hours, otherwise offered reimbursement, and compensated if they reach their final destination more than three hours late.

Extraordinary circumstances and complaints

Annex I sets out a non-exhaustive list of extraordinary circumstances — from natural disasters, war and serious cross-border health threats to air traffic management restrictions, airport closures, sabotage and certain strikes — which the European Commission must review every five years. Carriers must prove a direct causal link and that all reasonable measures were taken, and must give passengers a substantiated explanation in plain language.

• Compensation requests must be submitted within nine months of departure; the carrier must pay or justify within 30 calendar days.
• Complaints must be filed within 12 months, acknowledged within seven working days and answered within one month.
• Assistance includes refreshments every two hours, a meal after three hours and every five hours thereafter (maximum three meals a day), internet access and two telephone calls, plus hotel accommodation and transport.

Baggage, hand luggage and passengers with specific needs

• A personal item of up to 40 x 30 x 15 centimetres must be carried free of charge, and a piece of hand baggage must be allowed subject to cabin capacity.
• Air fares including hand baggage must be displayed by default before any booking process begins.
• Musical instruments may be carried in the cabin, or on a second seat placed on a window seat next to the passenger.
• Air carriers and airport managing bodies must provide forms allowing passengers to complain immediately about damaged, delayed or lost baggage.
• Persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility may make a free special declaration of interest for mobility equipment and assistance dogs; advance payments after death or injury must be made within 15 days, and not less than 16 % of the minimum liability limit set by the Montreal Convention in the case of death.

Vouchers, downgrading and information

• Vouchers are optional, valid for a maximum of 12 months and extendable once by a further 12 months; unredeemed amounts must be reimbursed within seven days.
• Downgrading triggers automatic reimbursement of 30 %, 50 % or 75 % of the flight price within 14 days.
• Name corrections are free of charge at least once if requested at least 48 hours before departure.
• A voluntary Union Air Passenger Rights Label will flag journeys covered by the rules, and airports handling more than four million passengers for three consecutive years must maintain contingency plans for mass strandings.

For readers, the regulation means more predictable payouts, a statutory right to leave a plane waiting on the tarmac and clearer information at the moment of booking, while carriers gain a defined list of extraordinary circumstances they can invoke. The European Commission must report on the operation of the rules by 23 October 2031 and every five years thereafter, including a review of the compensation thresholds.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 2 October 2026, p. 1 (official reference: CELEX L_202602202).