Why distance matters
Every fixed amount in EU261 and UK261 depends on the distance of the flight. A delay of four hours on a 1,400 km flight is worth €250 per passenger; the same delay on a 1,600 km flight is worth €400. Close to a band boundary, a few kilometres can change the payout, so it is worth measuring properly.
The great-circle method
Article 7(4) of the regulation says distances are measured by the great-circle route method. A great circle is the shortest path between two points on a sphere — the line a string would follow if pulled tight across a globe. It ignores the actual route the aircraft took, detours around weather and airspace closures, and any intermediate stop. That makes it predictable: the same pair of airports always gives the same answer.
This calculator uses the haversine formula with a mean Earth radius of 6,371 km. Airlines and courts may use slightly different radius values or coordinates, which can shift the result by a few kilometres. If your flight is within about 10 km of 1,500 or 3,500 km, expect the airline to check its own figure.
Connecting flights
When a journey consists of connecting flights booked together, the Court of Justice has held that the distance is the direct great-circle distance between the first departure airport and the final destination, not the sum of the legs. Delay is likewise measured at the final destination. So if a Munich–Frankfurt–New York trip arrives four hours late because the first leg was late, use Munich to New York.
The intra-EU rule
For flights where both airports are within the EU (including the outermost regions such as the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores), any distance over 1,500 km falls in the €400 band, even if it exceeds 3,500 km. A flight from Paris to Réunion, for instance, is an intra-EU flight because Réunion is part of the EU. The calculator treats Iceland, Norway and Switzerland as within the area, which matches how the regulation applies to them in practice; check the official text if your case depends on it. The UK version has no equivalent intra-area rule in the CAA's published bands, so the calculator uses pure distance for UK261.
Kilometres and miles
The regulation uses kilometres. Miles are shown for convenience: 1,500 km is about 932 miles and 3,500 km about 2,175 miles.
Examples
- London Heathrow to New York JFK: about 5,540 km — €600 / £520 band.
- Paris CDG to Rome Fiumicino: about 1,100 km — €250 band.
- Frankfurt to Tenerife South: about 3,240 km, intra-EU — €400 band.
Use the compensation calculator to combine distance with what happened.