Is my flight protected by the EU regulation?

Travel by Plane

Not sure if your flight is covered by EU air passenger rights? The European Union has introduced the Air Passenger Rights Regulation (EC No. 261/2004) to protect air passengers and this has long been implemented in national laws. We will inform you here about the flights for which you are entitled to air passenger rights, namely if your flight was delayed, if you were denied boarding or if the flight was cancelled. Baggage problems, on the other hand, are governed by the Montreal Convention.

The EU regulation covers all flights that

either departing from an airport on EU territory, regardless of where the airline is based
or arriving in the EU from outside, but only if the airline is based in the EU
and only for journeys for which no compensation has yet been offered by the airline under the laws of a non-EU country.

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Clear EU regulations

These regulations apply throughout the European Economic Area (EEA). This includes all 27 EU member states as well as Iceland and Norway. The regulation also applies to Switzerland and Liechtenstein and in non-territorial European territories such as Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. The exception is the Faroe Islands, where the regulation does not apply. If flights are operated by a Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or EU airline, European passenger rights also apply if their flights depart from outside the EU, Switzerland, Norway or Iceland.

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Bilateral negotiations

Flights from Great Britain

Attention! The United Kingdom has been considered a third country since 1 January 2021. It is therefore important which airline you fly with from the United Kingdom to the EU.

For flights from the UK, EU rules continue to apply to all flights operated by airlines based in the EU. However, this does not apply if compensation or consideration has already been granted under UK law.
If your flight is operated by a British airline (e.g. British Airways, EasyJet, Virgin Atlantic Airways,...), the EU regulations no longer apply! British air passenger rights now apply, which are very similar to EU law. This also applies if you had booked both flights together, the return flight is now operated by a British airline and the outward flight was operated by an EU airline.