Delayed flight - your right to compensation and assistance
Försenat flyg – din rätt till ersättning och hjälp - Engelska
You may be entitled to both compensation and assistance from the airline if your flight has been delayed. Here you can find out what you can claim from the airline when your flight is delayed. You will also learn what you can do if you do not receive what you are entitled to.
Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Your rights when the flight is delayed
There are special rules within the EU that may give you the right to assistance and compensation when your flight is delayed by more than three hours.
You can use our flight calculator to find out what applies in your situation, for example how much compensation you are entitled to.
Find out your rights and make a claim
Within the EU there are specific rules for air travel that can give you the right to assistance when your flight is delayed or cancelled. You may also be entitled to compensation.
EU rules apply when you:
- fly from an airport within the EU
- fly from an airport outside the EU to an airport within the EU with an airline that is registered in the EU.
The rules also apply to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands (but not the Faroe Islands) in the same way as for all EU countries. Similar rules also apply in the United Kingdom.
EU rules also apply if you depart from an airport outside the EU. But only if you are flying to an airport within the EU with an airline that is registered in the EU.
If this is not the case in your situation, you need to find out which rules apply to cancelled flights in the country in question.
Examples of what you can check:
- what you may be entitled to according to the airline’s terms and conditions
- whether there are national laws that determine your rights
- whether you may be entitled to compensation under the Montreal Convention
Right to compensation for extra costs
The airline may be required to compensate you for costs that occur as a result of the problem with the flight. This applies both inside and outside the EU, according to the Montreal Convention.
Examples of costs you may be entitled to compensation for:
- missed connecting flight or transport
- food and drinks while waiting for your flight
- accommodation if you need to stay overnight while waiting for your flight
- missed hotel night or hire car
- lost income
Remember that you must limit your costs. For example, by cancelling hotel rooms, hire cars, or anything else you will not be able to use because of the delayed flight. Otherwise, you may not receive compensation for everything you claim.
The information below applies if your trip is covered by EU rules.
If you would like an easy way to find out what applies in your situation, you are welcome to use our flight calculator.
Right to food, drinks and information
If the airline has reason to believe that your departure time will be delayed by at least 2 hours, it must offer you free food and drinks in reasonable proportion to the waiting time and the length of the flight. The airline must also inform you about your rights as a passenger.
If the airline does not offer you food and drinks, you can claim compensation for expenses that have been necessary, appropriate and reasonable.
Right to free hotel accommodation in case of an overnight delay
The airline must also arrange hotel accommodation if you are delayed by one or more nights. The airline must pay for transport between the hotel and the airport.
If the airline does not offer free accommodation, you can claim compensation for expenses that have been necessary, appropriate and reasonable.
Right to a refund in case of a delay of more than 5 hours
The airline must offer you a refund if your departure time is delayed by more than 5 hours. You are entitled to get back the ticket price for the part of the journey that you have not been able to use.
Have you already used part of the journey but it no longer serves any purpose? In that case, you are entitled to a full refund of the ticket price. You also have the right to a return flight to the first point of departure as soon as possible.
If you accept a refund, you cannot at the same time request that the airline flies you on to your destination free of charge.
How and when should you receive a refund?
Airlines must refund the ticket price within 7 days. The refund must be made in the same way that you paid for the ticket. If you agree, the refund can be made through vouchers or in another way.
You may be entitled to compensation and damages when your flight is delayed.
- Compensation is meant to cover the time you have lost.
- Damages are meant to cover extra costs you have had.
The information below applies if your trip is covered by EU rules.
In order to be entitled to compensation, the air travel must be covered by the EU rules and the delay must be 3 hours or longer.
How much you are entitled to also depends on the length of the flight
- Flights of up to 1 500 kilometres: EUR 250
- Flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres: EUR 400
- Flights longer than 3 500 kilometres between airports within the EU: EUR 400
- Flights longer than 3 500 kilometres that have not been operated entirely within the EU: EUR 600
How is the length of the journey calculated?
The length of the flight is calculated from the departure point to the final destination. How you should calculate depends on whether your ticket is considered continuously or not. If you have a layover, for example Stockholm - Copenhagen - New York, the distance is calculated from Stockholm directly to New York. If you have purchased individual tickets, the distances are calculated separately.
Use our free tool the Flight Calculator to calculate how much compensation you are entitled to.
The compensation may be reduced half for longer flights
For flights over 3 500 kilometres that have not been operated entirely within the EU, the amount may be reduced by half if the delay was more than 3 hours but less than 4 hours.
Example: You are flying from Sweden to Thailand. The flight is longer than 3 500 kilometres and you are entitled to EUR 600 in compensation if the flight is delayed by at least 3 hours. However, if the delay is a maximum of 4 hours, the compensation is reduced to EUR 300.
You may be entitled to compensation for damages if your flight is delayed or cancelled. Damages mean compensation for costs you incur because of the delayed or cancelled flight.
What can you receive compensation for?
You can, for example, receive compensation for:
- food and drinks
- missed and extra hotel nights
- transport to and from the airport
- loss of income
It is important that you limit your costs. Otherwise, you may only receive compensation for part of them.
You must be able to prove which costs you have had. Therefore, keep all receipts as proof. If you want compensation for lost income, you need a certificate from your employer. You can receive a maximum of 4 694 SDR. This corresponds to approximately SEK 68 000 (the amount in SEK depends on the exchange rate).
You cannot receive compensation for pain and suffering.
Always contact the airline to make your claims. If you have bought your ticket from a travel agency you should still contact the airline.
If your booking includes several flights with different airlines, you should contact the airline that is responsible for the cancelled flight.
If you are claiming compensation for costs that occurred because of the cancelled flight, you need to send proof of the costs, for example receipts. You should send your claims within 2 months from the incident.
Wait for a response from the airline
Once you have sent your claim to the airline, you need to wait for an answer. It usually takes a few weeks to get an answer. If you have waited more than 6 weeks without getting an answer, you can take the next step with your case.
If the airline rejects your claims
It happens that airlines refer to extraordinary circumstances and therefore do not pay compensation. Extraordinary circumstances are also called force majeure. These are events that are outside the airline’s control and that the airline could not have avoided even if it had taken all reasonable measures.
Examples of extraordinary circumstances can be:
- political instability
- weather conditions that make it impossible to fly
- security risks
- unforeseen deficiencies in flight safety
- strikes that impact the airline’s ability to operate the flight.
Strikes among the airline's own staff are usually not considered extraordinary circumstances. Neither are technical faults on the aircraft.
Who decides whether there are extraordinary circumstances??
There are no situations that are always considered extraordinary circumstances. Each case is assessed individually. The airline assesses the event first and decides whether it will pay compensation or not.
The airline must be able to prove that it has done everything it could to avoid the delay or cancellation.
Read more under “How to have your case reviewed” if you do not agree with the airline’s assessment.
Choose the option that best fits your situation. Are you unsure? Choose “Travelled with a Swedish airline”.
Do you need help understanding what you are entitled to? You may be unsure whether your claim is reasonable or want to discuss how you can proceed. Here you will find suggestions on where to turn.
Guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency
The Swedish Consumer Agency provides free guidance. We give you information about your rights and the options you have to move forward. We cannot assess your individual case, resolve disputes or contact companies on your behalf.
Consumer advice from your municipality
Many municipalities offer consumer advice. You can contact them for free information and support. The type of help provided varies between municipalities.
If you are resident in Sweden and the airline is registered in another EU country, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom, you may receive free advice from ECC Sweden. ECC Sweden is part of a network of consumer offices within the EU. In some cases, ECC Sweden can share your case with an office in another country to try to reach a solution through mediation.
How to contact ECC Sweden
To receive help with your case, you must first have submitted a claim to the airline.
You then need to send a description of the problem and documentation that shows what happened to ECC Sweden. Documentation is needed if your case is to be shared with an office in another country. Remember to keep your originals and only send copies to us.
Send your case by email to: konsumenteuropa@konsumentverket.se
Your message should include:
- your contact details and the name of the airline
- tickets or boarding passes
- a copy of your complaint and the claims you have made
- receipts
- the airline’s response.
Once you have submitted your case, you usually receive a response within a couple of weeks.
The European Consumer Centre Sweden cannot:
- Force a company to act according to the law. The work is based on the company being willing to cooperate with the ECC network to reach a solution.
- Mediate in a case if we cannot identify the trader or if the trader refuses to cooperate with the ECC network.
- Act as a legal representative or assist when the consumer has already initiated legal proceedings.
- Assist in purchases between traders or purchases between private individuals.
Do you have questions?
ECC Sweden is part of the Swedish Consumer Agency. If you need help understanding what you are entitled to or want to discuss if and how you can proceed with your case, you can contact our advisers.
Do you need help understanding what you are entitled to? You may be unsure whether your claim is reasonable or want to discuss how you can proceed. Here you will find suggestions on where to turn.
Guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency
The Swedish Consumer Agency provides free guidance. We give you information about your rights and the options you have to move forward. We cannot assess your individual case, resolve disputes or contact companies on your behalf.
Consumer advice from your municipality
Many municipalities offer consumer advice. You can contact them for free information and support. The type of help provided varies between municipalities.
If you believe the airline is breaking the rules, please file a report to the Swedish Consumer Agency. Examples of such situations:
- The airline has not offered you a refund or rebooking.
- You have not received your refund in a timely manner.
- The airline has not informed you about your rights.
The Swedish Consumer Agency does not investigate or decide on individual cases, but reports are important for their supervisory work. We ensures that companies follow the rules and can take action against those that do not.
There are several different authorities that can assess your case if the airline rejects your claims. Which one depends, among other things, on the type of compensation you are claiming and the country you travelled from.
In Sweden, it is the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) that can review whether you are entitled to financial compensation if the airline has rejected your claim.
It costs SEK 150 to submit a case to ARN.
Where you should send your case depends on the type of financial compensation you are claiming. There are two types of financial compensation you may be entitled to – compensation and damages.
Compensation
Compensation is provided in the form of a sum from EUR 250 to EUR 600. The compensation aims to reimburse you for time lost due to, for example, a delayed or cancelled flight, or because you were denied boarding.
Damages
Damages are compensation for expenses incurred due to, for example, a delayed or cancelled flight, or because you were denied boarding. This may include needing to buy food at the airport, missing a hotel night or losing income.
Where to turn if you demand damages
If you demand damages, you can turn to the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN). This applies if you demand damages only or if you demand both damages and compensation.
Submit a complaint on ARN's website
Where to turn to if you only demand compensation
If you only claiming compensation and/or a refund, you should contact an authority in the country you flew from or were supposed to fly from.
Below you will find a list of authorities within the EU where you can send your case. The different authorities operate in different ways and not all of them handle individual cases.
List of authorities within the EU on the European Commission website
Are you unsure which authority to turn to?
If you are unsure where to send your case, you can always contact us. We can also assist you with information about what you can do to have your case assessed or if the authority in the country you need to contact does not handle individual cases.
Proofread: 2 June 2025
The content is presented in collaboration with ECC Sweden, which is part of the ECC network and the Swedish Consumer Agency's information service. ECC Sweden is part-financed by the European Union.
The content of this website represents the views of the author only and it is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
