Trip went wrong? What you can claim for flights, bags and package holidays

When a trip goes wrong, the annoying part is not only the lost day. It is that the rules that could get some of your money back are split across four governments and a credit card statement, and the first page of search results is mostly companies that want a cut. This page is the short version, written from the regulators' and lawmakers' own pages, with a link to each. It covers what you can claim, from whom, and in what order. It is not legal advice, and the rules below were checked on 7 November 2026.

First: which rules cover your flight?

Which regime applies depends on where the flight leaves from, where it lands and which airline flies it, not on your nationality. The EU rules cover flights departing the EU and flights into the EU on an EU airline; the UK and Canada run their own versions; the US has refund rules but no general cash compensation for delays. If your flight sits under more than one regime, read each section below and use the one that fits. Keep every boarding pass, the booking confirmation and screenshots of any delay or cancellation message the airline sent you, whatever happens next.

Flight delayed or cancelled from the EU

Under EU Regulation 261/2004 you can be owed fixed compensation for a cancellation or denied boarding: EUR 250 for flights of 1,500 km or less, EUR 400 for flights within the EU over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and EUR 600 over 3,500 km (Your Europe). Arriving at your final destination three hours or more late also entitles you to compensation, unless the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances. That three hour rule comes from the EU Court of Justice's 2009 Sturgeon and Böck judgment (cases C-402/07 and C-432/07), not from the original text of the regulation.

What counts as "extraordinary": air traffic management decisions, political instability, bad weather and security risks. What usually does not: most technical problems found during maintenance, and strikes by the airline's own staff. That is the argument most refusals hinge on, so it is worth knowing which side of the line your delay falls.

While you wait, the airline owes you care: refreshments and food, a hotel and transport to it if you are rebooked onto the next day, and two calls or emails. If departure is delayed by five hours or more, you can ask for your ticket to be refunded instead of flying.

How to claim: write to the airline first. If it does not answer within two months, or the answer is unsatisfactory, complain to the national enforcement body in the country where the incident happened (the European Commission keeps the list). Doing this yourself costs nothing.

The 2026 reform does not change your claim yet. The EU agreed a revision on 15 June 2026 and it was signed on 16 September 2026, but it only applies 12 months after it enters into force. Until then the rules above stand. The signed text keeps EUR 250, 400 and 600 and the three hour threshold, with one change worth knowing for later: in specified cases the airline may halve the EUR 600 band when the arrival is no more than four hours late.

Flight delayed or cancelled from the UK

The UK kept its own copy of the rules. If you arrive more than three hours late you can claim GBP 220 (under 1,500 km), GBP 350 (1,500 to 3,500 km), or, over 3,500 km, GBP 260 for a delay of three to four hours and GBP 520 for more than four (UK Civil Aviation Authority). It is not automatic: you claim it from the airline, and extraordinary circumstances are an exemption here too.

If the airline refuses or does not reply within eight weeks, take it to the airline's approved dispute scheme (AviationADR or CEDR), which is free (CAA on ADR). If the airline is not in a scheme, the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team may help, but it cannot make a binding decision.

Flight delayed or cancelled in Canada

Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations pay by length of delay at arrival, for disruptions within the airline's control. Large airlines owe CAD 400 for three to under six hours, CAD 700 for six to under nine, and CAD 1,000 for nine hours or more; small airlines owe CAD 125, 250 and 500 (APPR, section 19). If you take a refund instead of travelling, the minimum is CAD 400 from a large airline or CAD 125 from a small one.

You have one year to claim from the airline, which then has 30 days to pay or explain why not. If you are still stuck, contact the airline in writing, wait for its answer, then complain to the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Flight cancelled or changed in the US: a refund, not compensation

The US has no federal rule that pays cash for a delay; the Department of Transportation withdrew its proposal for one on 17 November 2025 (Federal Register). What it does have is a firm refund rule (14 CFR part 260), in force since 2024:

• If the airline cancels, or makes a significant change and you do not accept it, you are owed your money back. A significant change includes departing three hours early or arriving three hours late on a domestic trip (six hours on an international one), a different airport, extra connections, or a downgrade to a lower class.
• The refund is due within 7 business days if you paid by credit card and 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
• The airline cannot treat you as accepting a voucher or credit instead of cash unless you agree to it.

One exception is in force today: DOT is not enforcing the cancellation refund for a flight that is only renumbered and otherwise operates as scheduled, a pause it extended to 7 July 2027 while it rewrites the definition of a cancelled flight (Federal Register, July 2026).

Bags lost, damaged or late

On international flights, the Montreal Convention caps an airline's liability for your baggage at 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, raised from 1,288 on 28 December 2024 (UK order implementing the revision). Plenty of pages still quote the old figure. The deadlines are short and strict: complain in writing within 7 days for a damaged bag and within 21 days of getting a delayed bag back, and any court action has a two year limit.

On US flights, you also get the checked bag fee back if the bag is significantly delayed: more than 12 hours after arrival on a domestic flight, 15 hours on an international flight whose nonstop US leg is 12 hours or less, and 30 hours where that leg is longer. Only if you file a Mishandled Baggage Report with the airline, so do it at the airport before you leave.

A package holiday that was not what was sold (EU)

If you booked a package in the EU (for example flight plus hotel from one organiser), the organiser is responsible for every part of it and must fix problems at no cost to you. Where a service is not performed as agreed, you are entitled to a price reduction, compensation, or both. If the organiser cancels, you get a refund and compensation where appropriate; if the cause is unavoidable, such as a natural disaster or a serious security problem, the refund is full but there is no extra compensation. A price rise of more than 8% lets you cancel for free, and insolvency protection refunds you and brings you home if the organiser goes bust (Your Europe on package travel). An amending directive was signed in April 2026, but it applies 34 months after entering into force, so these rules stand.

When nobody pays: dispute the charge (US cards)

If you paid by US credit card for something that was not delivered as agreed, the Fair Credit Billing Act treats that as a billing error. Send a written notice to the card issuer's billing error address so that it arrives within 60 days of the first statement showing the charge. The issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, 90 days at most (CFPB, Regulation Z 1026.13). Card networks add their own dispute rules on top; ask your issuer for theirs, because we have not printed numbers we could not check against an official page.

The order that works

1. Collect evidence at the time: boarding passes, the airline's messages, receipts for food and hotels, the Mishandled Baggage Report, photos of a damaged bag.
2. Claim from the company in writing, naming the rule above that applies and the amount.
3. Escalate to the official body for that regime when the deadline for a reply passes: the national enforcement body (EU), ADR (UK), the CTA (Canada).
4. Use a card dispute for money paid for something you did not get, inside the 60 day window.

Claim companies will do these steps for a share of what you recover. Everything above can be done yourself for free; whether the convenience is worth the fee is your call.

Got a message asking you to pay for your booking again? That is a scam with its own checklist: how to tell a fake payment request.

Tell the next traveler

If an airline, a hotel or a tour left you chasing your money, the useful thing for the next person is the specific bit: which company, which route, what they said, what finally worked. Add it to what ruined the trip, or write a review of the place. And before you go anywhere new, open the city page: for the cities where official travel advice names specific scams, the page lists them with sources.