What flight delays qualify for compensation?

If you are connecting on a different airline, airlines are not required to provide compensation if a delay on the first flight causes you to miss your connection. However, if your first flight is delayed for more than 3 hours, you may be entitled to compensation from the airline that caused the delay.



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Passengers are also entitled to compensation if they are delayed on the ground upon arrival, with a $50 credit for a delay of one to two hours, a $125 credit for a delay of two to three hours and a $200 credit for a delay of three hours or more.

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So if your flight is delayed by 2 hours, there is no compensation. However, you can make a different claim. For example, if your flight is delayed by two hours or more, your airline must take care of you by offering you support services. These can be very different.

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They currently all agree to issue meals or meal vouchers to passengers whose flights are delayed three hours or more, and all but Frontier have agreed to provide complimentary hotel accommodations if there's an overnight delay, plus ground transportation to those accommodations.

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Delayed Flight
If you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours after your scheduled arrival time, you are entitled to the same reimbursement, rerouting, and rebooking structure as a denied boarding.

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Once passengers have boarded the aircraft, the compensation structure is $100 in credit for a delay between three and five hours, $175 in credit for a delay between five and six hours, or a $250 credit for a delay of six hours or more.

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Delayed and Canceled Flights
The DOT does not require the airline to offer compensation, but it doesn't hurt to ask. With no federal compensation requirement for delayed passengers, refer to the policies of the operating airline to determine what compensation the airline will offer.

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For delays five hours or longer, the airline must refund your ticket, and if you missed a connecting flight due to the delay, the airline must provide transportation to the connecting airport.

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For domestic flights in the U.S., airlines have to pay you 200% of the value of your one-way ticket up to $775 if you arrive at your destination one to two hours past your originally scheduled itinerary or 400% of the one-way ticket price, up to $1,550 if your arrival delay is longer than two hours.

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Tweeting at the airline's customer service team, submitting a request for compensation online or writing a letter the old fashioned way are other options that have met with success…

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Overbooked flight compensation under US regulations
If the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, you are entitled to 400% of the one-way fare price, not to exceed $1,350 as well as any optional fees paid as part of your reservation (e.g. bag fees, seat upgrades, etc.).

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Frontier Airlines bumped the biggest proportion of passengers of the 15 largest US carriers in early 2023. Of every 10,000 Frontier passengers, 3.73 were involuntarily denied boarding due to oversales, the DOT said. Allegiant, Delta, Endeavor, and Hawaiian didn't bump any passengers in the quarter, per the DOT.

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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), airlines are not required to provide a refund or compensation for flight delays, no matter how late they are.

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Under EU261 rules, you may be entitled to up to 600 euros (~$630) in compensation if you arrive at your destination four hours late (or more) when flying long-haul, with lower payouts on shorter flights within Europe.

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Now, the DOT has defined language and timing so that a significant delay would be defined as one that affects the departure or arrival time of a domestic flight by three hours or more (or by at least six hours for an international flight).

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The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers a flight to be delayed when it is 15 minutes later than its scheduled time.

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When a flight delay occurs, you are entitled to assistance and a choice between rerouting, reimbursement, or rebooking. If you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours after your scheduled arrival time, you are entitled to the same reimbursement, rerouting, and rebooking structure as a denied boarding.

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The airline must offer you a meal and refreshment if your flight is late by at least 2 hours at departure. It'd be wiser to stay at the airport, despite the inconvenience. However, if the flight is delayed by over 6 hours, you're allowed to require a hotel room and transportation to get there.

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