Cancelled flight – when can you get compensation and assistance?
Inställt flyg – när kan du få ersättning och hjälp? - Engelska
When your flight is cancelled, you are usually entitled to rebooking or a refund. You may also be entitled to compensation and assistance from the airline. Find out how much compensation you may claim and what you can do if the airline refuses your claims.
Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Your rights when the flight is cancelled
Within the EU, there are specific rules for air travel that give you the right to rebooking or a refund. You may also be entitled to compensation.
You are welcome to use our flight calculator to find out what applies in your situation, for example how much compensation you may be entitled to.
Find out your rights and make a claim
Within the EU there are specific rules for air travel that can give you the right to assistance when your flight is delayed or cancelled. You may also be entitled to compensation.
EU rules apply when you:
- fly from an airport within the EU
- fly from an airport outside the EU to an airport within the EU with an airline that is registered in the EU.
The rules also apply to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands (but not the Faroe Islands) in the same way as for all EU countries. Similar rules also apply in the United Kingdom.
EU rules also apply if you depart from an airport outside the EU. But only if you are flying to an airport within the EU with an airline that is registered in the EU.
If this is not the case in your situation, you need to find out which rules apply to cancelled flights in the country in question.
Examples of what you can check:
- what you may be entitled to according to the airline’s terms and conditions
- whether there are national laws that determine your rights
- whether you may be entitled to compensation under the Montreal Convention
Right to compensation for extra costs
The airline may be required to compensate you for costs that occur as a result of the problem with the flight. This applies both inside and outside the EU, according to the Montreal Convention.
Examples of costs you may be entitled to compensation for:
- missed connecting flight or transport
- food and drinks while waiting for your flight
- accommodation if you need to stay overnight while waiting for your flight
- missed hotel night or hire car
- lost income
Remember that you must limit your costs. For example, by cancelling hotel rooms, hire cars, or anything else you will not be able to use because of the delayed flight. Otherwise, you may not receive compensation for everything you claim.
The information below applies if your trip is covered by EU rules.
If you would like an easy way to find out what applies in your situation, you are welcome to use our flight calculator.
The airline must offer rebooking or a refund
If your flight is cancelled, you have the right to choose one of the following options:
- Rebooking on a flight as soon as possible
- Rebooking to a later date
- A refund for the part of the ticket you were unable to use
It does not matter why the flight was cancelled or when you were informed of the cancellation.
Contact the airline and make your claim as soon as possible.
If your flight is rebooked, it must be rebooked to an equivalent flight.
Right to food, drinks and information
The airline must offer you free food and drinks in reasonable proportion to the waiting time.
If the airline does not offer free food and drinks, you can claim compensation for expenses for food and drinks that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable.
The airline must also inform you about your rights as an air passenger.
Right to hotel accommodation when necessary
Have you chosen to be rebooked on the next available flight, and does this mean that you have to stay at the airport or at your destination for one or more nights? In that case, the airline must arrange hotel accommodation. They must also cover transport to and from the airport.
If the airline does not offer this, you can claim compensation for expenses that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable.
Rebooking with another airline
If your airline cannot arrange a rebooking that gets you to your destination as soon as possible, you can request rebooking with another airline. For example, if your airline can only offer a flight in two days, but another airline can offer a flight on the same day.
Always contact your airline first before you arrange a new ticket yourself.
If you wanted to be rebooked but were not
Have you requested rebooking but the airline has said no? In that case, you can buy a new ticket yourself for a comparable journey and claim compensation for the cost.
If your journey no longer has any purpose, you have the right to a refund even for the part of the journey that you have already used.
How should the refund be made?
If you choose a refund, the airline is required to repay the ticket price within 7 days. The refund must be made in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank order or cheque. If you agree, the refund can be made through vouchers or in another way.
If the refund is not made on time, you can also claim late payment interest from the airline. Inform the airline in writing that you are demanding interest from the day the refund should have been made.
If you paid by credit
If you paid with any form of credit, such as a credit card or invoice, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act. This means that you can make the same claim against your credit provider or bank as against the company. You can therefore demand a refund from your credit provider or bank if the company does not repay you.
Contact your credit provider and explain that you want to use the right of objection under the Consumer Credit Act.
Getting yur money back if you made a credit purchase
Get help from the Swedish Enforcement Authority
If you have written proof that you are entitled to a refund, but the company still does not repay you, you can contact the Swedish Enforcement Authority. You may then be able to apply for an order to pay, or a European order to pay if the airline is within the EU.
If you can show that you have also demanded late payment interest from the company, you can include this in your application.
Contact the Swedish Enforcement Authority for more information about how the process works and what it costs. Remember that the fee charged by the authority can also be claimed back from the company.
Apply for a payment order on the Swedish Enforcement Authority’s website
You cannot demand to continue your journey free of charge
If you accept a refund, you cannot at the same time demand that the airline flies you to your destination free of charge.
A refund of the ticket means that the agreement with the airline ends and that you are responsible for making your own way home. The airline is therefore not required to cover, for example, food, drinks or hotel costs. However, in some cases, you can ask for a free flight back to the place of departure as soon as possible. But only if the purpose of your journey has been lost due to the cancelled flight.
You may be entitled to compensation and damages when your flight is delayed.
- Compensation is meant to cover the time you have lost.
- Damages are meant to cover extra costs you have had.
Contact the airline and claim compensation and/or damages as soon as possible.
The information below applies if your trip is covered by EU rules.
You may be entitled to compensation because your flight was cancelled.
How much compensation you are entitled to depends on the flight distance
- EUR 250 for all flights of no more than 1,500 km.
- EUR 400 for all flights between 1,500 km–3,500 km.
- EUR 400 for all flights within the EU that are longer than 3,500 km.
- EUR 600 for flights that are longer than 3,500 km and have not been fully carried out within the EU.
How is the distance calculated?
The distance is calculated from the starting point to the final destination. How you calculate the distance depends on whether your ticket counts as a connecting ticket or not. If you have a transfer, for example Stockholm – Copenhagen – New York, the distance is calculated from Stockholm directly to New York. If you bought tickets that are not connected, each flight segment is calculated separately.
Use our free tool, the Flight Calculator, to get help with calculating how much compensation you are entitled to.
Did you travel with one single ticket or with separate tickets?
One single ticket means that you have one ticket for the whole journey, even if it includes transfers. With one single ticket, you usually only need to check in once and you only have one booking reference. It is usually stated when you book the ticket whether it is a single ticket or not.
If there are several booking references on your tickets, they are most likely separate tickets.
When are you not entitled to compensation?
You are not entitled to compensation if you were informed about the change:
- 14 days or more before the planned departure
- 7–13 days before the planned departure, and the airline offered rebooking so that you can travel no more than 2 hours before the original departure time and arrive no more than 4 hours after the original arrival time
- 6 days or fewer before the planned departure, and the airline offered rebooking so that you can travel no more than 1 hour before the original departure time and arrive no more than 2 hours after the original arrival time.
The airline does not have to pay compensation if it can show that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances. These are circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Compensation may be reduced by half
Compensation may be reduced by half if you are offered rebooking. What determines whether the compensation may be reduced is how many hours delayed you are compared with your original arrival time. If you did not travel on the proposed rebooking, your original arrival time is compared with the proposed arrival time to determine whether the compensation should be reduced.
Your compensation may be reduced in the following situations:
- When the flight distance is up to 1,500 kilometres, the compensation is 250 euros. If the proposed rebooking leads to a delay of less than 2 hours, the compensation may be reduced to 125 euros.
- When the flight distance is between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, the compensation is 400 euros. If the proposed rebooking leads to a delay of less than 3 hours, the compensation may be reduced to 200 euros.
- When the flight distance is more than 3,500 kilometres and not operated entirely within the EU, the basic compensation is 600 euros. If the proposed rebooking leads to a delay of less than 4 hours, the compensation may be reduced to 300 euros.
You may be entitled to compensation if your flight is cancelled. Compensation refers to reimbursement for expenses you incur due to the cancelled flight.
What can you receive compensation for?
You can, for example, receive compensation for:
- food and drinks
- missed and extra hotel nights
- transport to and from the airport
- loss of income
It is important that you limit your expenses. Otherwise you may only receive compensation for part of your expenses.
You must be able to prove what expenses you had. Save all of the receipts for your expenses as evidence. If you want compensation for lost income, you will need a certificate from your employer.
You cannot receive compensation for pain and suffering.
Always contact the airline to make your claims. If you have bought your ticket from a travel agency you should still contact the airline.
If your booking includes several flights with different airlines, you should contact the airline that is responsible for the cancelled flight.
If you are claiming compensation for costs that occurred because of the cancelled flight, you need to send proof of the costs, for example receipts. You should send your claims within 2 months from the incident.
Wait for a response from the airline
Once you have sent your claim to the airline, you need to wait for an answer. It usually takes a few weeks to get an answer. If you have waited more than 6 weeks without getting an answer, you can take the next step with your case.
If the airline rejects your claims
The airline is not obliged to pay financial compensation if the delayed or cancelled flight is due to extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary circumstances (also called force majeure) mean events that are beyond the airline’s control and cannot be avoided even if all reasonable steps are taken.
Examples of circumstances that may be extraordinary:
- political instability
- weather conditions that make it impossible to fly
- security risks
- unforeseen deficiencies in flight safety
- when a strike happens that affects the operations of the airline.
Strikes among the airline's own staff are usually not considered extraordinary circumstances. Neither are technical faults on the aircraft.
Who determines if it is an extraordinary circumstance?
There are no defined situations that are always considered to be extraordinary. This must be assessed case by case.
It is up to the airline to prove that the delayed or cancelled flight was due to an extraordinary circumstance. The airline must also be able to prove that they did everything they could to avoid the flight being delayed or cancelled.
Read further under the heading "How to have your case reviewed" if you do not agree with the airline's assessment.
Choose the option that best fits your situation. Are you unsure? Choose “Travelled with a Swedish airline”.
Do you need help understanding what you are entitled to? You may be unsure whether your claim is reasonable or want to discuss how you can proceed. Here you will find suggestions on where to turn.
Guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency
The Swedish Consumer Agency provides free guidance. We give you information about your rights and the options you have to move forward. We cannot assess your individual case, resolve disputes or contact companies on your behalf.
Consumer advice from your municipality
Many municipalities offer consumer advice. You can contact them for free information and support. The type of help provided varies between municipalities.
If you are resident in Sweden and the airline is registered in another EU country, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom, you may receive free advice from ECC Sweden. ECC Sweden is part of a network of consumer offices within the EU. In some cases, ECC Sweden can share your case with an office in another country to try to reach a solution through mediation.
How to contact ECC Sweden
To receive help with your case, you must first have submitted a claim to the airline.
You then need to send a description of the problem and documentation that shows what happened to ECC Sweden. Documentation is needed if your case is to be shared with an office in another country. Remember to keep your originals and only send copies to us.
Send your case by email to: konsumenteuropa@konsumentverket.se
Your message should include:
- your contact details and the name of the airline
- tickets or boarding passes
- a copy of your complaint and the claims you have made
- receipts
- the airline’s response.
Once you have submitted your case, you usually receive a response within a couple of weeks.
The European Consumer Centre Sweden cannot:
- Force a company to act according to the law. The work is based on the company being willing to cooperate with the ECC network to reach a solution.
- Mediate in a case if we cannot identify the trader or if the trader refuses to cooperate with the ECC network.
- Act as a legal representative or assist when the consumer has already initiated legal proceedings.
- Assist in purchases between traders or purchases between private individuals.
Do you have questions?
ECC Sweden is part of the Swedish Consumer Agency. If you need help understanding what you are entitled to or want to discuss if and how you can proceed with your case, you can contact our advisers.
Do you need help understanding what you are entitled to? You may be unsure whether your claim is reasonable or want to discuss how you can proceed. Here you will find suggestions on where to turn.
Guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency
The Swedish Consumer Agency provides free guidance. We give you information about your rights and the options you have to move forward. We cannot assess your individual case, resolve disputes or contact companies on your behalf.
Consumer advice from your municipality
Many municipalities offer consumer advice. You can contact them for free information and support. The type of help provided varies between municipalities.
If you believe the airline is breaking the rules, please file a report to the Swedish Consumer Agency. Examples of such situations:
- The airline has not offered you a refund or rebooking.
- You have not received your refund in a timely manner.
- The airline has not informed you about your rights.
The Swedish Consumer Agency does not investigate or decide on individual cases, but reports are important for their supervisory work. We ensures that companies follow the rules and can take action against those that do not.
There are several different authorities that can assess your case if the airline rejects your claims. Which one depends, among other things, on the type of compensation you are claiming and the country you travelled from.
In Sweden, it is the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) that can review whether you are entitled to financial compensation if the airline has rejected your claim.
It costs SEK 150 to submit a case to ARN.
Where you should send your case depends on the type of financial compensation you are claiming. There are two types of financial compensation you may be entitled to – compensation and damages.
Compensation
Compensation is provided in the form of a sum from EUR 250 to EUR 600. The compensation aims to reimburse you for time lost due to, for example, a delayed or cancelled flight, or because you were denied boarding.
Damages
Damages are compensation for expenses incurred due to, for example, a delayed or cancelled flight, or because you were denied boarding. This may include needing to buy food at the airport, missing a hotel night or losing income.
Where to turn if you demand damages
If you demand damages, you can turn to the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN). This applies if you demand damages only or if you demand both damages and compensation.
Submit a complaint on ARN's website
Where to turn to if you only demand compensation
If you only claiming compensation and/or a refund, you should contact an authority in the country you flew from or were supposed to fly from.
Below you will find a list of authorities within the EU where you can send your case. The different authorities operate in different ways and not all of them handle individual cases.
List of authorities within the EU on the European Commission website
Are you unsure which authority to turn to?
If you are unsure where to send your case, you can always contact us. We can also assist you with information about what you can do to have your case assessed or if the authority in the country you need to contact does not handle individual cases.
Proofread: 2 June 2025
The content is presented in collaboration with ECC Sweden, which is part of the ECC network and the Swedish Consumer Agency's information service. ECC Sweden is part-financed by the European Union.
The content of this website represents the views of the author only and it is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
