The scope rules in plain English
Article 3 of Regulation 261/2004 sets out two routes into coverage. First, any flight departing from an airport in an EU member state is covered, whatever the nationality of the airline. Second, a flight departing from a non-EU country and arriving in the EU is covered if the operating carrier is a Community carrier — an airline licensed in an EU country — unless the passenger already received benefits or compensation under that country's law. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland apply the regulation through agreements with the EU, so they are treated like member states here.
The UK kept the regulation after Brexit as retained law, adjusted to the UK. Flights departing from the UK are covered on any airline, and flights arriving in the UK are covered if the airline is a UK or EU carrier.
Examples
- New York to Paris on Air France: covered by EU261 (EU carrier arriving in the EU).
- New York to Paris on a US airline: not covered by EU261. The return Paris–New York on the same airline is covered because it departs from the EU.
- London to Dubai on any airline: covered by UK261.
- Dubai to London on a Gulf carrier: not covered by UK261.
- Paris to London on an EU carrier: covered by both; claim under one.
Outermost regions and territories
Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint-Martin, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands are part of the EU, so flights from them are covered. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are not, even though they belong to Denmark. The calculator uses the airport's country code; airports in these territories carry their own codes in the data.
Codeshares and operating carriers
What counts is the operating carrier — the airline whose crew and aircraft fly the trip — not the marketing carrier on your ticket. If you booked a US airline's flight number but the flight was operated by an EU partner, the EU partner's licence applies. Your boarding pass or booking confirmation usually says "operated by".
Connecting itineraries
For connections booked together, the Court of Justice treats the journey as a whole for delay purposes. In Wegener (C-537/17), a passenger with a single booking from Berlin to Agadir via Casablanca on a Moroccan airline was denied boarding on the second leg in Casablanca; the Court held the regulation still applied, because the journey as a whole began in the EU. When an itinerary starts outside the EU on a non-EU carrier and connects in the EU onto an EU carrier, analyse each leg.
The United States
US law takes a different approach. The DOT refund rule in 14 CFR Part 260 gives a right to a refund when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel, but it sets no fixed compensation for delays. Use the US refund checker for those flights.
Everywhere else
For international journeys between countries that have ratified the Montreal Convention, airlines are liable for damage caused by delay, subject to limits and proof of actual loss. Many countries have their own rules too; Canada, for example, has the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. Those are outside this tool.