When EC 261/2004 covers your easyJet flight
easyJet operates one of Europe's densest short-haul networks, with bases in London Gatwick, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam and beyond. The airline's business model relies on tight aircraft rotations: a single morning disruption can ripple across an entire day of flying. Those knock-on delays are exactly the situations in which passengers most often qualify for compensation.
The European regulation EC 261/2004 applies to your easyJet flight when:
- the flight departs from an airport in the EU (plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland), regardless of the destination; or
- the flight arrives in the EU from a non-EU country and is operated by an EU carrier — which is the case for easyJet Europe (Austrian AOC) and easyJet Switzerland.
Flights operated by easyJet UK departing from British airports fall under the retained UK regime ("UK261"), which mirrors the same principles with amounts set in pounds sterling. A Gatwick-bound flight departing from Paris, Nice or Lisbon, however, remains fully covered by the EU text.
The three-hour rule
Following settled case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union, compensation is due when you reach your final destination at least 3 hours late. What matters is not the departure delay, nor the wheels-down time shown in a tracking app, but the moment the aircraft doors open and passengers are free to disembark.
Two practical points for easyJet travellers:
- if your itinerary includes a connection on the same booking, the delay is measured at final arrival, even if the first leg was only mildly late;
- a 2 h 45 departure delay that becomes 3 h 10 on arrival does qualify — and conversely, time recovered in the air can push you below the threshold.
Compensation amounts: €250, €400 or €600
The amount is fixed by law and does not depend on the fare you paid or the fare class you booked. For low-cost passengers, the compensation frequently exceeds the ticket price.
- €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less (e.g. Paris–Geneva, Nice–Rome);
- €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km (e.g. London–Lisbon, Lyon–Athens, Bristol–Marrakech);
- €600 for flights over 3,500 km outside the EU — rare on easyJet's network, but relevant for a handful of routes to Egypt or Jordan.
Distance is measured using the great-circle method between the departure airport and the final destination.
Cancellations, denied boarding and missed connections
Delays are not the only covered scenario. A cancellation notified less than 14 days before departure triggers the same entitlements, unless the rerouting offered keeps you within tightly defined time windows around your original schedule. Denied boarding due to overbooking also gives rise to immediate compensation. And if a delayed easyJet leg causes you to miss a connection booked on the same reservation, the total arrival delay is what counts.
Extraordinary circumstances: the airline's main defence
easyJet may refuse compensation where the disruption stems from extraordinary circumstances beyond its control: genuinely prohibitive weather, air traffic control strikes, airspace closures, security incidents or instructions from an authority.
By contrast, established case law holds that the following are not extraordinary:
- technical faults arising from routine aircraft maintenance;
- strikes by the airline's own staff, including cabin crew and pilots;
- crew rostering or rotation problems;
- a late inbound aircraft, unless that earlier delay itself had a properly evidenced extraordinary cause.
Your rights at the airport, regardless of compensation
Duty of care applies separately from compensation. From 2 hours of waiting on short-haul flights, easyJet must provide refreshments, meals appropriate to the delay, two communications, and hotel accommodation plus transfers if an overnight stay becomes necessary. Keep every receipt: reasonable expenses are reimbursable in addition to the fixed compensation.
Evidence worth keeping
- your easyJet booking confirmation and flight number (EZY/U2 format);
- boarding passes, including mobile versions;
- screenshots of airport displays, app notifications or emails from the airline;
- the actual time the doors opened, noted on the spot;
- receipts for meals, hotels and ground transport.
Claims can go back up to 3 years
A disrupted easyJet flight from 2024 or 2025 may still be actionable: we handle claims dating back up to 3 years. All steps are taken amicably with the airline, so you never have to manage the correspondence yourself. Our fee is 35%, charged only if the claim succeeds — nothing is owed if it does not.
Check your eligibility in a couple of minutes with our compensation calculator: your flight number, date and route are enough to estimate the amount at stake.