€600 is the highest compensation amount available under the European air passenger rights regulation, EC 261/2004. It is also the figure most long-haul travellers are looking for after a disrupted flight from Paris to New York, Amsterdam to Bangkok or Madrid to Buenos Aires. But not every long flight automatically qualifies. Here is how the top tier actually works.
Where the €600 figure comes from
Article 7 of EC 261/2004 sets a flat-rate compensation based purely on flight distance — never on the price you paid for your ticket. A €90 promotional fare and a €4,000 business-class seat produce exactly the same entitlement. The scale is:
- €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less;
- €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km;
- €600 for all remaining flights — meaning journeys of more than 3,500 km that are not entirely within the EU.
A key consequence: a 4,000 km flight flown entirely inside the EU (Lisbon to Helsinki, for example) is still capped at €400. The €600 band is reserved for routes to or from a non-EU country beyond 3,500 km.
Which flights fall under the regulation?
- Any flight departing from an EU airport (plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), whatever the airline's nationality;
- Any flight arriving in the EU, but only when operated by an EU-licensed carrier.
So a Rome–Singapore flight on a Singaporean airline is covered on the outbound leg but not on the return. The same return flight on an EU carrier would be covered. Flights departing the United Kingdom are now governed by the UK's own retained regime (UK261), with equivalent amounts set in pounds sterling.
How the distance is measured
Distance is calculated as the great-circle distance between your departure airport and your final destination as shown on the booking — not the sum of individual legs. For a connecting itinerary sold as a single reservation, the relevant distance runs from the very first departure point to the very last arrival airport.
This matters enormously. A Nice–Frankfurt–Shanghai itinerary counts as a roughly 9,000 km journey, even if it was the short Nice–Frankfurt leg that caused the missed connection. Conversely, two separately purchased tickets are treated as two independent journeys, and a missed self-connection generally falls outside the regulation.
Delay, cancellation, denied boarding
- Delay: compensation becomes due when you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late. The reference point is actual arrival — when the aircraft doors open — not departure time.
- Cancellation: you qualify if the airline informed you less than 14 days before departure, unless the rerouting offered keeps you close to your original schedule.
- Denied boarding due to overbooking: compensation is owed immediately, with no delay threshold at all.
The 50% rule: when €600 becomes €300
Article 7(2) allows the airline to halve the compensation where it offers rerouting that keeps your arrival close to schedule. For flights over 3,500 km outside the EU, the threshold is 4 hours: if you land less than 4 hours after the original arrival time following a cancellation or denied boarding, the amount drops to €300. Beyond 4 hours, the full €600 applies.
Extraordinary circumstances
No compensation is payable if the airline proves the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures: severe weather, airspace closures, air traffic control strikes, political instability, bird strikes. By contrast, EU case law has consistently held that routine technical failures, crew shortages and strikes by the airline's own staff are generally not extraordinary.
Even when compensation is refused on those grounds, the airline still owes you care and assistance: meals, communications, hotel accommodation where needed, plus rerouting or a refund. These are separate rights and are never deducted from compensation.
Three worked examples
- Madrid–Mexico City, 5h20 late after an engine fault: over 3,500 km, non-EU, delay above 3 hours → €600 per passenger.
- Paris–Dubai cancelled 3 days ahead, rerouted arriving 3h30 late: cancellation within 14 days, but arrival delay under 4 hours → €300.
- Lyon–Amsterdam–Toronto on one booking, connection missed, arrival next day: Lyon–Toronto exceeds 3,500 km → €600.
Deadlines and documents
Airlines Quick Refund handles claims going back up to 3 years. Keep your booking confirmation, boarding passes, airline emails and any evidence of your real arrival time — a photo of the arrivals board or a timestamped message works well. We work through amicable channels with the carriers, and our 35% fee applies only if we succeed: no compensation, no charge.
Find out in two minutes whether your long-haul flight qualifies for €600: run the compensation check.