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A flight delay compensation calculator works out what you are owed under EU 261 using three pieces of information: how far your flight was, how late you arrived, and what caused the delay. If you landed three or more hours late for a reason within the airline’s control, you are typically owed between €250 and €600 per passenger.

Knowing you are entitled to something is one thing. Knowing the exact figure — before you spend time on a claim — is what most people really want. This guide explains how the calculation works, walks through a real example, and shows you how to get your precise amount in minutes.

When you are ready to see your number, you can Calculate Your Compensation Now for free.

How a Flight Delay Compensation Calculator Works

A compensation calculator is simply a tool that applies the EU 261 rules to your specific flight. It is not guesswork — the regulation sets fixed amounts based on clear thresholds, so the maths is consistent every time.

The calculator checks three things in order. First, does your flight qualify at all (was the delay long enough, and was the cause the airline’s responsibility)? Second, how far was the flight, since distance sets the amount? Third, are there any factors that reduce or remove the payout?

Get past those checks and the result is a fixed sum per passenger. Because the figures are set in law rather than negotiated, a good calculator gives you a reliable estimate of the delayed flight compensation amount you can expect to recover.

The key thing to understand is that there is no sliding scale and no haggling. EU 261 was deliberately designed around fixed amounts so that passengers know exactly where they stand and airlines cannot dispute the size of a valid claim. That predictability is what makes a calculator genuinely useful: feed in accurate details and the output is the same figure a court would arrive at.

The Three Inputs That Decide Your Payout

Every reliable calculation rests on the same three inputs.

1. Flight distance. This is the single biggest factor in how much you receive. Distance is measured as the great-circle distance between your departure and final-destination airports — not the actual route the plane flew.
2. Delay length. This decides whether you qualify, not how much. The threshold is a delay of three hours or more measured at arrival, meaning the moment the aircraft door opens at your destination. A two-hour-and-fifty-minute delay, sadly, falls short.
3. Cause of the delay. Compensation is payable when the delay was within the airline’s control — for example, technical faults, crew shortages or staff strikes. It is not payable when the cause was an “extraordinary circumstance” such as severe weather or an air-traffic-control restriction.

Of the three inputs, cause is the one most likely to be disputed. Airlines sometimes label a delay as extraordinary when it was not, which is why it helps to know the difference. A routine engine fault, a late-arriving crew, or a staffing shortfall is the airline’s problem and keeps your claim alive. A storm that closes the runway or a nationwide air-traffic-control strike is not — and a calculator will flag that your payout may not apply.

Compensation Tiers Table

Once you qualify, the amount is determined entirely by distance. These are the fixed tiers under both EU 261 and the UK’s equivalent, UK 261.

There is one adjustment built into the rules. For flights over 3,500 km, if the airline rerouted you and you arrived less than four hours late, the €600 can be reduced by 50% to €300. For the shorter two tiers, no such reduction applies — you receive the full amount. If you are using a flight delay compensation calculator UK side, the same logic applies, just in pounds.

Worked Example: London to Athens, Delayed 4 Hours

Let us put the calculation to work with a realistic case.

Imagine you fly from London to Athens, and your flight lands four hours late because of a technical fault with the aircraft. Step through the three inputs:

• Distance: London to Athens is roughly 2,400 km — that falls into the middle tier of 1,500–3,500 km.
• Delay: four hours at arrival, comfortably over the three-hour threshold.
• Cause: a technical fault is generally the airline’s responsibility, so it does not count as an extraordinary circumstance.

The result: you are owed €400 per passenger. Travelling as a couple? That is €800. A family of four? €1,600. The figure scales with the number of people on the booking, because compensation is paid per passenger, not per booking.

Swap the route for something longer — say a 4,000 km flight delayed five hours — and the amount rises to €600 each. Shorten it to a 900 km hop delayed three and a half hours, and it would be €250.

Notice what does not change the outcome in this example: the exact number of hours past three. Whether your Athens flight landed four hours late or eight hours late, the figure stays at €400, because the distance tier is fixed. The delay only had to clear the three-hour bar. This is the most common point of confusion, so it is worth checking your distance carefully — a route sitting just over 1,500 km or just over 3,500 km can tip you into a higher tier.

What Reduces or Cancels Your Payout

Not every late flight ends in a payout. A calculator has to account for the situations where the amount drops or disappears entirely.

• Delays under three hours. If you arrive less than three hours late at your final destination, no cash compensation is due, however frustrating the wait was.
• Extraordinary circumstances. Severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, security risks, political instability and bird strikes remove the right to cash compensation. The airline must prove the cause qualifies, though — the burden is on them, not you.
• The 50% reduction. As noted, the €600 long-haul tier can be halved if rerouting kept your arrival under four hours late.
• Cancellations with 14+ days’ notice. If a flight is cancelled and you were told at least 14 days ahead, no compensation applies.

Even where cash compensation is not payable, your right to care — food, drinks and a hotel if you are stuck overnight — usually still stands, and so does your right to a refund or rerouting.

Calculators Work for Cancelled Flights Too

The same three-input logic applies if your flight was cancelled rather than delayed, with one extra check: the 14-day notice rule. If the airline cancelled with less than two weeks’ notice, you can claim flight cancelled compensation at exactly the same distance-based tiers shown above.

On top of any compensation, a cancellation always gives you a choice between a full refund within seven days or an alternative flight to your destination. That choice is yours to make, not the airline’s.

How to Get Your Exact Figure

A calculator gives you a strong estimate, but a couple of details — the precise distance, the official cause logged by the airline, whether a reduction applies — can shift the final number. That is why the most accurate route is to have your specific flight assessed.

FlyHelp’s free check-compensation tool does exactly this. You enter your flight details, and it tells you instantly whether you qualify and roughly how much you are owed — no payment, no commitment. As a specialist flight compensation company, FlyHelp then handles the claim end to end on a no win, no fee basis: a success fee only applies if your money comes through. The team has more than five years’ experience, deals with all the paperwork, and will take the airline to court if necessary.

To confirm your eu delayed flight compensation amount and start a claim if you qualify, you just upload your ticket and passport and add an e-signature.

Ready to see your number? Calculate Your Compensation Now.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is flight delay compensation calculated under EU 261?

EU 261 compensation is calculated from three factors: flight distance, the length of the delay at your final destination, and the cause. If you arrive three or more hours late for a reason within the airline’s control, you receive a fixed amount — €250, €400 or €600 per passenger — based purely on distance.

Does flight distance affect how much compensation I get?

Yes. Distance is what sets the amount. Flights up to 1,500 km pay €250, flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km pay €400, and flights over 3,500 km pay €600. The delay length only decides whether you qualify, while distance decides the size of the payout itself.

Can I use a compensation calculator for cancelled flights too?

Yes. The same distance-based tiers apply to cancelled flights, with one added condition: the airline must have given you less than 14 days’ notice. A calculator applies that 14-day check and then works out your amount, plus your separate right to a full refund or an alternative flight.