The Compensation and Hotel Costs Airlines Must Pay in 2026
If your flight is cancelled or arrives several hours late, the airline may owe you as much as €600. It could also be responsible for your meals, hotel accommodation, airport transfers and replacement flight—even when the disruption was outside its control.
Flight cancellations and lengthy delays can quickly turn an ordinary journey into an expensive ordeal. Passengers may find themselves paying for meals, accommodation or a new ticket while trying to decipher an airline’s website or waiting endlessly for customer service.
Many travellers do not realise that European law gives them extensive protection. Depending on the circumstances, an airline may have to provide a replacement flight or refund, care while you wait and financial compensation of up to €600 per passenger.
Crucially, compensation and assistance are separate rights. Extraordinary circumstances may release an airline from paying the fixed €250–€600 compensation, but they do not normally remove its obligation to provide meals, accommodation and transport while you wait for the earliest available rerouting.
Here is what passengers travelling from Belgium and elsewhere in Europe need to know in 2026.
When do EU air-passenger rights apply?
The principal protections come from European Regulation EC 261/2004, often called EU261.
The rules generally apply when:
- Your flight departs from an EU airport, regardless of the airline’s nationality.
- Your flight arrives in the EU from outside it and is operated by an EU airline.
- Your flight takes place entirely within the EU.
For these purposes, the rules also cover Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Therefore, a flight from Brussels to Dublin, London, New York or another non-EU destination is covered, even when it is operated by a non-EU airline. A flight into the EU from a non-EU country is normally covered only when operated by an EU carrier.
The rights apply to passengers, not just EU citizens. Nationality and country of residence are not normally decisive.
How much compensation can you receive?
If your flight is cancelled at short notice or you reach your final destination at least three hours late, you may qualify for fixed compensation.
| Flight distance | Potential compensation |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 kilometres | €250 |
| More than 1,500 kilometres within the EU | €400 |
| Other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres | €400 |
| More than 3,500 kilometres | Up to €600 |
For long-haul journeys of more than 3,500 kilometres between the EU and a non-EU country, the amount may be reduced to €300 when the arrival delay is between three and four hours.
The amount is calculated per passenger, so a family of four could potentially receive as much as €2,400 following a qualifying long-haul cancellation or delay.
Compensation is generally based on the distance and disruption—not the amount paid for the ticket. A passenger using a low-cost fare may therefore be entitled to the same fixed compensation as someone who paid considerably more.
According to the EU’s official air-passenger rights guidance, compensation normally becomes possible when a passenger reaches the final destination at least three hours late, unless extraordinary circumstances caused the disruption.
What happens when your flight is cancelled?
When a covered flight is cancelled, the airline must offer you a choice between:
- A refund of the unused ticket;
- Rerouting to your final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
- Rerouting at a later date convenient to you, under comparable conditions and subject to seat availability.
Do not accept a refund automatically if you still need to travel. Once you choose reimbursement, you generally give up your right to insist that the airline reroute you.
If your journey has already started and the cancelled flight makes it pointless—for example, because you will miss the event you were travelling to attend—you may also be entitled to a return flight to your original departure point.
If the airline simply refunds your ticket without offering the legally required choice, and you must purchase a comparable replacement ticket, it may also be responsible for the difference in price.
Must the airline put you on another airline?
The legal requirement is to reroute you to your destination at the earliest opportunity under comparable transport conditions.
If the cancelling airline’s next available flight is several days away but another carrier has suitable seats much sooner, ask the airline—in writing if possible—to book that alternative.
Do not immediately purchase an expensive replacement without first giving the original carrier a reasonable opportunity to fulfil its obligations. If it refuses, fails to respond or offers a clearly inadequate alternative, preserve evidence of what happened and select a necessary and reasonable replacement.
Keep screenshots showing available flights, times and prices, together with the airline’s proposed alternative. These can be important if you later seek reimbursement.
When must the airline pay for your hotel?
If a cancellation or delay means that your replacement flight does not depart until the following day, the airline must normally provide:
- Hotel accommodation for the necessary night or nights;
- Transport between the airport and the accommodation;
- Meals and refreshments appropriate to the waiting time; and
- Two telephone calls, emails or other communications.
There is no fixed EU-wide nightly hotel allowance in the regulation. The accommodation and other expenditure must be necessary, reasonable and appropriate.
If the airline does not arrange a hotel, ask a representative or customer-service agent to confirm in writing that you should make your own arrangements. If nobody is available, choose a reasonable hotel rather than an unnecessarily luxurious one and retain every receipt.
The airline’s duty of care can continue even when the cancellation was caused by bad weather, an air-traffic-control failure or another extraordinary event. The extraordinary-circumstances defence generally relates to the fixed financial compensation—not essential care while passengers wait.
The EU confirms that assistance following a cancellation includes food, refreshments, accommodation when rerouting requires an overnight stay, and transport between the airport and hotel. If the airline fails to provide this care, necessary and reasonable expenses should be reimbursed.
When are meals and refreshments required?
For a delay at departure, the point at which the airline’s duty of care begins depends on the flight distance:
| Flight | Delay before assistance is due |
|---|---|
| 1,500 kilometres or less | Two hours |
| Intra-EU flight over 1,500 kilometres | Three hours |
| Other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres | Three hours |
| Other flights over 3,500 kilometres | Four hours |
The food and refreshments offered should be proportionate to the waiting time. A short delay might justify a drink and snack, while an extended delay may require a proper meal.
If the airline gives you nothing, retain itemised receipts. Alcohol, lavish restaurant meals and unrelated purchases are less likely to be reimbursed.
What if the delay exceeds five hours?
When departure is delayed for at least five hours, you may decide not to travel and request reimbursement of the ticket.
Where relevant, the airline must also provide a return flight to your original departure airport at the earliest opportunity. This is particularly important on connecting itineraries when the disruption makes the remainder of the journey pointless.
Choosing a refund usually means ending the airline’s obligation to carry you to the original destination, so consider your options carefully before accepting it.
When is compensation not payable?
An airline may avoid the fixed compensation if it proves that the cancellation or delay resulted from extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Possible extraordinary circumstances include:
- Serious adverse weather;
- Air-traffic-control restrictions or decisions;
- Political instability;
- Security risks; and
- Certain strikes external to the airline.
However, the airline cannot simply use the phrase “extraordinary circumstances” without explanation. It must establish a direct connection between the event and your disruption and demonstrate that reasonable steps could not have prevented it.
The EU states that most routine technical problems and strikes by the airline’s own staff are not considered extraordinary circumstances.
Even when extraordinary circumstances apply, the airline must normally still provide rerouting or reimbursement and appropriate care, including meals and necessary hotel accommodation.
Does advance warning affect compensation?
Yes. For a cancellation, fixed compensation is normally payable when you were informed fewer than 14 days before departure, unless the airline offered a sufficiently close alternative.
Compensation is generally not payable when:
- You were informed at least 14 days in advance;
- You were informed between seven and 14 days in advance and the replacement departed no more than two hours early and arrived less than four hours late; or
- You were informed fewer than seven days in advance and the replacement departed no more than one hour early and arrived less than two hours late.
The airline is responsible for proving when it personally informed you.
What about connecting flights?
When connecting flights are included in a single reservation, entitlement is generally assessed according to your arrival at the final destination.
If the first flight is delayed by a relatively short period but this causes you to miss a connection and reach your final destination more than three hours late, compensation may be payable.
This protection is far weaker when flights were booked separately. The second airline may treat you as a no-show if the first flight arrives too late, so separate-ticket journeys carry considerably more risk.
What should you do at the airport?
Take these steps as soon as your flight is disrupted:
- Ask the airline for the precise reason for the cancellation or delay.
- Request written confirmation of the disruption.
- Ask for rerouting at the earliest opportunity.
- Request meal vouchers, accommodation and transport where applicable.
- Photograph the departure board and save messages from the airline.
- Take screenshots of suitable alternative flights.
- Keep your booking confirmation, boarding pass and every receipt.
- Record the actual time at which you reached your final destination.
For compensation purposes, the relevant delay is generally the difference between the scheduled and actual arrival time at your final destination—not merely the time the aircraft departed.
How do you claim compensation and expenses?
Submit the claim directly to the operating airline first. This may not be the same company that sold you the ticket.
Include:
- Your booking reference and flight number;
- The scheduled and actual travel dates and times;
- A clear description of the disruption;
- The compensation amount requested;
- An itemised list of expenses;
- Copies of receipts and supporting evidence; and
- Your bank details, if requested through a secure claims system.
Keep copies of everything you submit. Fixed compensation should not be replaced with a voucher unless you voluntarily agree to accept one.
If the airline does not respond within two months, or rejects the claim without a satisfactory explanation, you can contact the relevant national enforcement authority. Belgian residents dealing with a cross-border dispute may also seek guidance from the European Consumer Centre.
Legal deadlines vary between countries, so do not leave a claim unresolved indefinitely.
Frequently asked questions
Does an airline have to pay for my hotel after a cancellation?
Normally, yes, if you accept rerouting at the earliest opportunity and an overnight stay becomes necessary. The airline should also cover reasonable transport between the airport and the hotel.
Are meals and hotel costs payable during bad weather?
The airline’s duty of care normally continues even when bad weather removes the right to fixed financial compensation.
Can I receive both a refund and compensation?
Potentially, yes. A refund or rerouting and statutory compensation are separate rights. Compensation will depend on the reason for the cancellation, when you were informed and the replacement journey offered.
Can the airline give me a voucher instead of money?
An airline may offer a voucher, but you do not generally have to accept one instead of monetary compensation. Consider restrictions and expiry dates before agreeing.
What if I book my own hotel?
The airline should reimburse necessary, reasonable and appropriate accommodation when it failed to provide the required care. Keep itemised receipts and evidence that you first attempted to obtain assistance.
Does travel insurance replace the airline’s responsibilities?
No. Travel insurance may cover additional losses, but it does not remove an airline’s obligations under applicable passenger-rights legislation.
Know your rights before you fly
A cancellation or severe delay is stressful, but accepting the first option offered by the airline can sometimes mean giving up a more useful remedy.
Ask whether you are being offered a refund, rerouting at the earliest opportunity or travel on a later date. Request the meals, accommodation and airport transfers to which you are entitled, and document every expense.
Those few steps can make the difference between absorbing the entire cost yourself and recovering hundreds—or even thousands—of euros.
This article provides general consumer information based on the EU rules applicable in September 2026. It does not constitute individual legal advice. Passenger rights can depend on the route, operating carrier, booking structure and cause of the disruption.
