EU passengers entitled to up to €600 for delayed or cancelled flights

Under European Union Regulation 261/2004, passengers on flights departing from the EU are entitled to monetary compensation when a flight is delayed, cancelled, or when boarding is denied. The amount depends on the distance of the flight: €250 for trips up to 1,500 km, €400 for longer intra‑European flights up to 3,500 km, and €600 for intercontinental routes, roughly 14,000 CZK per passenger.

A Eurobarometer survey shows that 77 % of Czech travellers who experienced such disruptions never filed a claim. Over the past fifteen years, European passengers could have claimed about €18 billion in compensation, but less than half of that sum was actually paid out. In the Czech Republic, claims must be submitted within three years of the flight date, and passengers can first request compensation directly from the airline before involving the Civil Aviation Authority if the airline does not respond or rejects the claim unjustly.