Domestic vs. International Flight Delay Compensation

Compensation rights for a long flight delay depend on your airline and flight location.

U.S. law lets airlines set their own (stingy) delay compensation terms, whereas many other countries give passengers stronger legal protections. 

But one aspect of flight delay compensation is universal: Airlines won't go out of their way to pay for their poor punctuality. And knowing when and what you're owed is the first step to getting what you're owed, wherever your delay occurs.

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Domestic Flight Delay Compensation Rules

U.S. flight delay compensation rules are made up of minimal regulations overseen by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and commitments made in airlines’ customer service plans (also called “contracts of carriage”).

DOT flight delay regulations

Airlines must offer a full refund for the unused portion of your ticket if your domestic U.S. flight is delayed by three or more hours or your international flight arriving to or departing from the U.S. is delayed by six or more hours. 

You qualify for the refund if you: 

• Choose not to continue traveling on the delayed flight or an alternative one offered to you; and 
• Refuse other forms of compensation — like miles or a travel certificate. 

Refunds must be provided regardless of delay reason or ticket type. 

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Beyond that, the DOT guarantees few legal protections for air passengers affected by long delays, leaving you at the mercy of your airline’s policy.

Airline policies for domestic delays

Major U.S. airlines’ customer service plans guarantee they’ll keep you fed during controllable three-hour+ delays. 

And most — except Frontier — will get you a hotel during controllable overnight delays.

No U.S. airline gives cash compensation for domestic delays. But some list other potential forms of delay compensation in their fine print. Examples include:

• For controllable three-hour+ delays, Alaska Airlines offers $50+ discount codes or 2,000 Mileage Plan miles applicable toward future Alaska flights.
• For controllable three-hour+ delays, Southwest provides a $75+ LUV travel voucher.
• JetBlue provides travel credits ranging from $50 to $250, depending on the delay’s length and type.
• On a case-by-case basis, Delta may give you a gift card, travel voucher, or miles. No compensation amount or qualifying delay length is specified.

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International Flight Delay Compensation Rules

Overseas travel may entitle you to better compensation than what you’ll get in the U.S., depending on where and with whom you’re flying. 

EU261 compensation for delays 

The EU261 air travel regulation determines flight delay compensation within the European Union (EU), many EU territories, and some non-EU European countries. 

To qualify for EU261, flights must:

• Depart from within EU261’s jurisdiction, regardless of their operating airline
• Arrive within EU261’s jurisdiction and be operated by airlines based in EU261’s jurisdiction

Under EU261, you’re entitled to care — food, communication services, and in some cases lodging — when you experience a long departing flight delay. 

These benefits kick in based on a flight’s distance and delay length, with short flights qualifying after only two-hour delays.

You’re also entitled to cash compensation when your EU261-qualifying flight reaches its final destination at least three hours late due to an avoidable reason. 

Compensation amounts typically range from €250 to €600 depending on the flight’s distance and location.

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These significant differences between U.S. and EU compensation policies may influence your airline choice in some circumstances.

For instance, although these flights from New York to Paris are the same price, only the Air France-operated flight qualifies for EU261’s cash compensation after a three-hour controllable delay.

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And during an uncontrollable delay — for example, a delay caused by a snowstorm — Air France will provide or reimburse you for reasonable meals and an overnight hotel stay; Delta won’t. 

Other countries’ policies

Other international flight delay compensation laws vary from one country to the next.

Canadian flight delay compensation laws apply to all flights arriving to and departing from Canada, regardless of the operating airline’s nationality. Compensation for long, controllable delays ranges from $125 to $1,000 (Canadian dollars), with payouts varying by delay length and airline size.

UK flight delay compensation laws apply to any flight:

• Departing from the United Kingdom (UK)
• Arriving at a UK airport and operated by an EU or UK airline
• Arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline

Compensation ranges from £220 to £520 depending on the flight’s distance and delay length.

No matter what part of the globe you’re traveling in, you should never make assumptions about your passenger rights, as even less wealthy countries’ flight delay compensation laws may be more generous than our miserly U.S. protections.

When my plane from Natal, Brazil, to São Paulo was delayed by two hours to repair bird strike damage (an uncontrollable delay), I was surprised to learn the low-cost airline was legally obligated to keep me fed while I waited. 

Some broken Portuguese and Google Translate helped me secure vouchers for cassava cheese bread and an açaí smoothie. 

Montreal Convention

If you experience a long flight delay in another jurisdiction where your passenger rights are unclear, you may have international law to rely on. 

The Montreal Convention — an air travel agreement signed by around 140 countries — entitles you to reimbursement for “damage” you incur due to a controllable transnational flight delay. 

The section of the Convention’s text (Article 19) that deals with flight delays is brief and doesn’t provide examples of what might qualify as financial damage. But it can be interpreted to apply to necessary expenses you incur while waiting for your flight and loss of income due to the delay. 

If an airline denies your initial claim for damages due to a flight delay, you can potentially cite the Convention when pursuing the claim in court. Maximum damage reimbursements for flight delays are capped at about $5,400 under the Montreal Convention as of December 2024.

Key Differences Between Domestic and International Compensation

U.S. flight delay compensation policies are more limited than many overseas policies. Major differences between U.S. and international flight delay benefits include:

• Care: In some foreign jurisdictions — including the EU, UK, and Turkey — you’re legally entitled to food and lodging after long flight delays regardless of what caused them, whereas U.S. airlines usually only provide this care for preventable delays. And some countries’ care benefits kick in after shorter delays than the three-hour minimum required in the U.S.

• Compensation: U.S. airlines don’t have to compensate you for significantly delayed flights, and those that do typically provide miles or travel vouchers — not cash. Airlines in jurisdictions like the EU, Canada, and the UK must give passengers cash following qualifying delays.

• Reimbursement: This is one of the few areas where U.S. flight delay compensation policies outshine some foreign competitors. Passengers on U.S. flights can get refunds after three-hour delays; refunds are available after five-hour delays for most European flights.

• Right to knowledge: Airlines aren’t legally obligated to inform passengers in the U.S. of delay-related services they’re entitled to, whereas airlines operating in the EU must keep passengers “fully informed of their rights” during long delays.  

Protecting Yourself From Unexpected Costs

Flight delay benefits guaranteed by airlines or legal frameworks may seem like enough for your needs. But even the most generous air travel regulations contain fine-print clauses that leave you financially vulnerable during long delays. 

For example:

• Routine complications, like bad weather, absolve airlines of many basic customer care responsibilities for delayed U.S. flights.
• About half of flights arriving in the EU aren’t covered under EU261.
• Cash compensation for delayed international flights maxes out at about $700, which might not fully cover your missed hotel and activities.

A flexible travel insurance policy can fill those gaps and keep you covered. 

For instance, if you’re flying from a state with unpredictable winter storms, most policies with trip delay coverage will reimburse your hotel and meal expenses during weather-related delays. 

Or if you’ve booked a luxury villa for your vacation, a policy that reimburses for prepaid accommodation can help you recover money when a delay causes you to miss the first night of your stay.

You can compare multiple policies by entering your travel details into an insurance marketplace like VisitorsCoverage or SquareMouth. 

Or you can search for policies directly from reputable insurers like Allianz Travel Insurance. I recommend both approaches to ensure you find the most affordable plan covering all your needs.

Credit cards with travel insurance may also provide trip delay protection, though it will likely be more limited than coverage from a standalone travel insurance policy. 

Trip delay coverage from the luxury Chase Sapphire Reserve®, for example, applies to delays of at least six hours up to a maximum of $500 in coverage per trip. But it won’t reimburse you for lost prepaid expenses. 

You can find standalone travel insurance policies that kick in after the same delay length and provide up to $3,000 in reimbursements, including prepaid expenses.

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FAQs About Flight Delay Compensation

What should I do if a delay causes me to miss a connecting flight?

If your delayed and connecting flights were purchased on the same itinerary, approach the delayed flight’s staff and ask them to rebook you on the next available flight to your destination. 

Ask them what caused the delay. The circumstances may determine whether you’ll receive care while waiting for your new connecting flight and financial compensation for the inconvenience.

If your delay qualifies you for care, request meals or meal vouchers and, if necessary, assistance booking and transiting to a nearby hotel.

If the delayed and connecting flights weren’t purchased on the same ticket, the delayed flight’s airline is unlikely to reimburse you for the missed flight or rebook you for free. 

But if the delayed flight qualifies for financial compensation, the money you’ll get by filing a compensation claim will at least offset the cost of buying a new ticket.

What’s a controllable flight delay?

A controllable delay is one the airline could have prevented with better planning or more efficient operations. For example:

• Fixing common plane issues discovered during regular maintenance
• Accommodating passengers bumped from an overbooked flight
• Replacing crew engaged in an internal labor strike

Controllable flight delays account for over 60% of three-hour+ domestic flight delays, according to the DOT.

Flight delays caused by extraordinary circumstances are considered uncontrollable. For example:

• Replacing a plane part that has a manufacturing defect
• Repairing collision damage
• Hazardous weather, like blizzards or lightning

Will U.S. flight delay compensation laws change?

The DOT is considering expanding air passenger protections in the U.S. with regulations comparable to those of the EU. 

Proposed changes include:

• Cash compensation ranging from $200 to $775 for long, controllable flight delays, with the amount varying based on delay length
• Specific requirements for airlines to provide either upfront care — like meals, lodging, and ground transportation — during long delays or reimbursements for care purchases passengers make while waiting for significantly delayed flights

But these changes, which were proposed during the Biden administration, may or may not be pursued by the Trump administration. 

How do flight delay compensation policies affect airlines?

There’s evidence that passenger-friendly flight delay compensation policies make airlines more punctual. 

A 2018 study by the European University Institute found that EU261-regulated flights were 5% more likely to arrive on time and that their average departure delay was almost five minutes shorter than flights that weren’t EU261-regulated. 

But airlines argue that these compensations require higher airfares. Ryanair increased its ticket prices by about 6% following EU261’s implementation. Expanding compensation laws in the U.S. may have a similar effect.

TL;DR: Your Rights for Domestic and International Flight Delays 

As you can tell, flight delay compensation varies greatly depending on where you’re flying and which airline you’re flying with. 

While U.S. flight delay compensation rules are underwhelming, international protections go a bit further, offering care and financial compensation in more scenarios. 

It’s important to remember, though, that every airline will prioritize minimizing how much they pay out to their passengers. Knowing your rights and being proactive — whether by claiming compensation or using travel insurance — can save you money and stress.

Be informed and assertive, and consider travel insurance to stay financially protected!

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.