EU keeps 3 hour delay rule and bans no-show fees in passenger rights overhaul

The EU struck a political deal in mid-June to overhaul air passenger rights for the first time in more than two decades, keeping the three-hour delay compensation threshold intact while adding new protections on fare transparency, no-show penalties and reduced-mobility travelers.

What changed versus the old EU261 regime

The old Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 framework still governs claims today and it will keep doing so until the revised text is formally adopted and published in the Official Journal, then applied 12 months later. Airlines had lobbied to push the delay threshold to four or six hours. The European Parliament held the line at three.

Compensation amounts stay where they were: €250 ($270) for flights under 1,500 km, €400 ($432) for 1,500 to 3,500 km and €600 ($648) for flights over 3,500 km, triggered by cancellations or delays of at least three hours within the airline's control.

What is new sits around the edges of that core rule:

• Airlines must proactively inform passengers of their rights and claim procedures within 96 hours of a disruption.

• No-show penalties on return flights are banned. Carriers can no longer void the return leg or charge fees when a passenger skips the outbound.

• Fare displays must show total prices upfront, including hand-baggage charges, to curb hidden add-ons at checkout.

• Families with children under 14 and carers of reduced-mobility passengers, must be seated together at no extra cost.

• Damaged or lost mobility equipment gets clearer liability rules and replacement or insurance options.

• A standardized claim form and tighter airline response deadlines, with political messaging pointing to roughly 30 days to process claims.

Scope doesn't change. All flights departing an EU airport are covered, plus flights arriving in the EU when operated by an EU carrier, which pulls in long-haul routes to Madrid, Frankfurt or Paris from Central America and elsewhere.

Who needs to act and when

Nobody needs to re-file anything, but timing matters for anyone booking ahead. The revised rules only bite 12 months after publication in the Official Journal and publication itself is still pending legal-linguistic review and formal endorsement by Parliament and the Council. Any flight disrupted before that application date falls under the current EU261 rules, so claim procedures, deadlines and the "extraordinary circumstances" defense airlines invoke remain as they are today.

Travelers holding return tickets they may not use on the outbound leg still face no-show cancellations under current airline policies until the new regulation applies. For a wider view of how EU rules land on remote workers and long-stay travelers, our country breakdowns track the moving parts.