By what went wrong
Every kind of flight disruption, and what you’re owed
Pick what actually happened to you. Each one is a different rule — a delay, a cancellation and a missed connection are not variations on a theme, they are separate rights with separate tests.
Usually payable
Flight delay
If you arrived 3+ hours late and the cause was within the airline's control, you are almost certainly owed compensation.
Usually payable
Flight cancellation
Compensation is due unless the airline gave 14+ days' notice or can prove extraordinary circumstances. A refund or re-route is always owed.
Usually payable
Denied boarding
If you were bumped against your will from a flight you had a confirmed booking on and checked in for, compensation is due immediately.
Usually payable
Missed connection
On a single booking, if a delay on the first leg made you arrive 3+ hours late overall, you can claim — even if the connecting flight itself ran on time.
Contested
Weather
Weather can be a valid defence — but only for the delay it genuinely caused, and the airline has to prove it took reasonable measures.
Usually payable
Technical fault
Usually still payable. Routine technical and mechanical faults are part of running an airline and are not extraordinary circumstances.
Contested
Strikes
It depends who struck. The airline's own staff on a wildcat strike: usually payable. Air traffic control or airport staff: usually not.
Usually not payable
Air traffic control
Usually not payable. ATC restrictions and airport congestion are outside the airline's control and generally count as extraordinary.
Payable
Downgrade
If the airline put you in a lower class than you paid for, it owes you a percentage of the ticket back — 30%, 50% or 75% by distance.
Payable
Delayed or lost baggage
This is not EU261. Baggage is covered by the Montreal Convention, with a different limit and a much shorter deadline to report it.
Not sure your disruption qualifies?
Each guide above tells you honestly when compensation is not payable — and when an airline is hiding behind an excuse that does not hold. If the cause of your disruption is contested, a free eligibility check from a claims service is a reasonable second opinion before you drop it.
The check is free and commits you to nothing. If you let them run the claim, Compensair takes 25–35% and AirHelp 35–50%, no-win-no-fee. Affiliate links; your fee is unchanged either way.