vluchtclaimhulp.nl
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Help with your flight

Compensation of €250 to €600 may be possible after a delay of at least 3 hours. The route, cause, and final arrival time all matter. The tool does not decide your case.
Legally reviewed on 31 July 2026. These are the rules currently in force.

What can you do at the airport?

Ask the airline for food, drinks, and a hotel or transport when needed. Keep your booking, messages, photos, and reasonable receipts.
Also ask for a written explanation of the delay or cancellation.
Care, rerouting, and evidence

Right to care (Article 9)

  • Meals and drinks in reasonable proportion to the waiting time.
  • Two free phone calls, faxes, or emails.
  • Hotel accommodation if one or more nights are needed.
  • Transport between airport and hotel.

Paying yourself? Keep receipts and claim reimbursement. Source: Art. 9 EU 261.

Refund or rebooking (Article 8)

On cancellation or a delay of ≥5 hours you choose:

  • Full refund of the ticket within 7 days, plus a return flight to the first point of departure if relevant.
  • An alternative flight to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, or on a later date of your choice.

Source: Art. 8 EU 261.

Denied boarding (overbooking) — Article 4

If the airline has sold more tickets than seats, it first asks for volunteers willing to give up their seat (Art. 4 paragraph 1). Only after that may it deny passengers against their will (paragraph 2).

Denied? Then immediately you get:

  • Compensation under Article 7 (€250/€400/€600) — no waiting-time threshold.
  • Choice between refund or rebooking (Article 8).
  • Right to care (Article 9) while waiting.

Source: Art. 4 EU 261.

Placement in a lower class — Article 10

If the airline places you in a lower class than your ticket, you get within 7 days a percentage of the ticket price back:

DistanceRefund
≤ 1500 km30 %
1500 – 3500 km (incl. intra-EU > 1500 km)50 %
> 3500 km75 %

Source: Art. 10 EU 261.

Airline information duty — Article 14

The airline is required (Article 14) to inform you in writing about your rights before departure. On cancellation or denied boarding they must even hand the rules to you on paper. Many airlines don't. A missed notice is not separately compensated, but it strengthens your negotiating position. Source: Art. 14 EU 261.

When may compensation be possible?

Arriving at least 3 hours late may qualify for €250, €400, or €600 per passenger. Certain reroutings may allow a 50% reduction.
Check the route, final arrival time, and cause before stating an amount.
Amounts, the 50% reduction, and exceptions

On an arrival delay of 3 hours or more or on cancellation, the in Article 7 may apply. The route, notice, replacement flight, and cause remain conditions. See Bossen C-559/16 on distance measurement:

≤ 1500 km

€250

All flights in this distance band.

1500 – 3500 km

€400

Intra-EU flights >1500 km and all other flights 1500–3500 km.

> 3500 km

€600

Non-intra-EU flights above 3500 km; this is the base amount.

Note: for some replacement flights the airline may reduce the base amount by 50% under Article 7(2). For a non-intra-EU flight above 3,500 km arriving 3 to less than 4 hours late, €600 may therefore become €300.

Distance means the between the original departure and final destination, not the route through stopovers — Bossen C-559/16.

An extraordinary circumstance is a cause genuinely outside the airline's control. It is not a free pass: the airline must also show that the delay could not have been prevented even with reasonable preparation. Below are common reasons and Court of Justice (CJEU) rulings:

FDP means the legal duty-time limit for crew; FOD means a foreign object on the airfield or runway. Each ruling links to EUR-Lex. The complete set is on How it works.

What if the airline rejects or ignores the claim?

First send a reminder with a reasonable deadline. You can then consider a formal notice of default, legal help, or a subdistrict-court claim.
Keep every letter, response, and sending date. Flights departing from the Netherlands usually have a two-year time limit.
Deadlines, formal notice, and further steps
1

Step 1 — Send a substantiated claim

Day 0: send a claim letter (this tool, step 1) — right after the flight or as soon as possible. Most airlines reject valid claims first. Step 2 is the norm, not the exception.

2

Step 2 — No answer or a rejection? Take the next step

An EU 261 claim is a money claim under contract. Under the airline gets a reasonable period to respond — in NL collection practice usually 14 days. Source: BW 6:82. Got a rejection? Paste it into step 2 of this tool; you'll get a rebuttal letter that refutes it with CJEU case law. Stayed completely silent? Then send a firm reminder yourself with a hard payment deadline — a notice of default. It isn't required to be able to litigate (the airline has been in default since the flight date), but it gives them a last chance and strengthens your case.

3

Step 3 — Still no money? Choose deliberately

  1. Go to the Dutch small-claims court (kantonrechter) yourself. For claims up to €25,000 you do not need a lawyer and may represent yourself (Rv art. 79, Rv art. 93). See how the Dutch procedure works.
  2. ILT report as a signal. The Dutch civil aviation authority (ILT) does not handle individual compensation requests and cannot force airlines to pay. You can file a report as a signal for systemic enforcement, but it doesn't get you paid. ILT report form (ILT delay/cancellation).

Germany

3 years

§ 195 BGB

Belgium

1 year

Court of Cassation 2018 (indicative)

France

5 years

Art. 2224 Code civil

Spain

5 years

Art. 1964 Código Civil

Periods DE/BE/FR/ES are indicative; for certainty: ask ECC-NL or a local lawyer. BE: specific case number not publicly verifiable — use as a guide only.

Period almost up? Interrupt the limitation.

A registered letter in which you unambiguously assert your right to payment stops the clock (). BW 3:317 paragraph 1 → "The limitation of a right of action for performance of an obligation is interrupted by a written demand or a written notice in which the creditor unambiguously reserves their right to performance." (BW 3:317). Send by registered mail → proof of dispatch and date.

Do I need a lawyer?

No — for claims up to €25,000 you may litigate in person. Rv art. 79 paragraph 1 → "Parties may litigate in person in cases before the kantonrechter" (Rv art. 79).

Where do I file?

Digitally via Mijn Rechtspraak / "Geld eisen": rechtspraak.nl/Onderwerpen/Geld-eisen (Rechtspraak money claims).

What does it cost?

One-time court filing fee — only you as claimant pay. If you win the case, you get the filing fee back. Current rate: Rechtspraak.nl filing fee kanton (Rechtspraak court fees).

What do I submit?

  • Your claim letter (this tool, step 1).
  • The airline's rejection letter.
  • Optionally your rebuttal letter (this tool, step 2).
  • Booking confirmation + boarding pass.
  • Photos or emails about the delay (see also what to keep while you are at the airport).

Not legal advice. The process is described as it appears on Rechtspraak.nl. Filing with the court? Check all references in your documents yourself — when in doubt, the Juridisch Loket (Legal Aid Desk) is free.

Submit it yourself or get help?

Submitting it yourself takes time but none of your compensation. If successful, a claims agency often keeps 25% to 50%.
Choose human legal help if you need an assessment of your own case.
Costs and forms of help

Submit it yourself

This may suit you if you want to review the letters and can handle the follow-up steps. You send everything in your own name and keep any compensation in full.

A claims agency

This can be practical if you have little time, your case is complicated, or the airline is difficult to collect from. If successful, agencies often keep 25% to 50% of the compensation under their terms. Vluchtclaimhulp receives nothing for a referral and does not recommend an agency.

Legal expenses insurance or other legal help

Choose human legal help if you need an assessment of your own case. That is outside this tool, which only supports the process.

Examples of published fees: AirHelp, EUclaim, and Flightright. Always check an agency's current terms.

Other questions

A refund and compensation are different rights. A flight outside the Netherlands or a rerouting may still fall under EU 261.
Rerouting, non-EU routes, and correcting mistakes

I just want my ticket money back — not compensation

That is a separate right under Article 8. If you choose not to travel after a delay of 5 hours or more, or after a cancellation, ask the airline to refund your ticket. Possible fixed compensation under Article 7 is separate and depends on factors including the route, arrival delay, and cause.

The airline put me on another flight — can I still claim?

It may still be possible. A replacement flight does not automatically exclude compensation. Your arrival at the final destination, the original arrival time, timing of the notice, and the cause all matter. If a replacement flight arrives within the limits in Article 7(2), the airline may reduce the base amount by 50%.

My flight was from outside Europe — does this apply?

EU 261 applies to every flight departing from an EU/EEA airport, regardless of which airline operates it. Amsterdam to New York on Delta is therefore within scope. If you depart outside the EU/EEA and arrive inside it, the operating airline must be based in the EU/EEA; New York to Amsterdam on KLM is within scope, while the same route on Delta is not. UK 261 may apply as a separate regime to flights from or to the United Kingdom.

What if I don't live in the Netherlands?

The letter still works — Regulation 261/2004 applies EU-wide. But the NL-specific follow-up steps (ingebrekestelling, kantonrechter, ILT report) only apply to cases where Dutch law applies. For EU citizens outside NL: ECC-Net has a country-specific variant.
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