Under 14 CFR § 260.6 a US airline owes you a full refund to your original form of payment — not a voucher — when it cancels your flight or changes it significantly and you decline the alternative, a significant change being defined by § 260.2 as an arrival delay of 3 hours or more on a domestic itinerary and 6 hours or more on an international one. US law sets no separate cash compensation for the delay itself, so past the refund you are owed whatever that carrier's own published commitments promise; a flight touching Mexico is covered in addition by Ley de Aviación Civil Art. 47 Bis, which does require indemnification of at least 25% of the fare.
Four bodies of law can govern a delayed flight, they use different triggers, and more than one can reach the same ticket: US refund rules, Mexican compensation under art. 47 Bis, Regulation 261/2004 in Europe, and its retained UK version, which pays in sterling rather than euros. This checker works out which ones reach your itinerary and cites the provision so you can read it yourself. For a European departure it also measures the great-circle distance to your final destination, because that is what sets the figure. It asks for no booking reference and no surname, stores nothing, and sends nothing anywhere — the calculation runs in your browser.
How late is it?
What you can actually claim
More than one regime covers this flight
Two sets of rules reach this same ticket, and they are separate claims rather than alternatives. Mexico to the United States sits under Mexican compensation law and US refund law at once; London to New York sits under UK compensation and the US refund right at once. Most guides pick one and drop the other, which is where travellers lose money. Read both cards.
One end of this itinerary is in the United States, so Part 260 applies even on a foreign airline. It is an international itinerary, so the threshold is 6 hours, not 3. A 5-hour delay is 1 hour short of the 6-hour threshold, so no refund is owed. Anything offered to you now is the airline's own policy, not a legal entitlement.
A 5-hour delay exceeds 4 hours, which under section V(b) pulls in the same remedies as a cancellation.
What is owed
Your choice of remedy, not the airline's. A refund of the ticket or of the unflown portion, substitute transport on the next available flight, or transport on a later date that suits you. The election belongs to you.
Indemnification of at least 25%. Where you take the refund or the later-date option, the carrier owes an additional indemnification of no less than 25% of the ticket price or of the unflown portion. The statute sets a floor, not a ceiling, and the ticket price includes taxes and charges.
Care provided then, and money within 10 days. Food and, where the wait runs overnight, lodging and ground transport must be provided at the time of the disruption rather than reimbursed later. Indemnification itself must be settled within 10 days of your claim.
This flight does not leave an airport in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK, so neither 261/2004 nor its UK version governs the departure. They can also reach a flight arriving into that territory, but only on a carrier licensed there, which depends on the operating licence rather than the airline's home country — so if you are flying into Europe, check the operating carrier rather than taking this card as the last word.
This is a summary of published regulation, not legal advice
The rules quoted here are public and cited so you can check them yourself. Whether a disruption was genuinely within an airline's control, and what your particular contract of carriage adds, are questions this page cannot settle for you.
Know the answer — now send the letter
Four free templates covering a DOT refund, a PROFECO indemnification claim in Spanish, an involuntary bumping cash demand, and a baggage claim. Copy-paste, no signup.
US and Mexican law are built on opposite premises. The US rule is a refund rule: if the airline no longer offers what you paid for, you may have your money back. It pays you nothing for the ruined day. The Mexican rule is a compensation rule: past certain thresholds the carrier owes an indemnification on top of whatever it does about your travel, precisely because the day was ruined.
That difference is why the two never substitute for each other. A traveller who gets a refund from a Mexican airline on a flight out of Cancún has collected under the US rule and has not touched the Mexican indemnification. The airline has no obligation to point this out, and in our experience it does not.
The three-hour figure everyone repeats is only half the rule
Nearly every article about US delay rights quotes three hours. That figure is correct for a domestic itinerary and wrong for an international one, where § 260.2 sets six. On a US–Mexico route map that distinction covers most of the flying: Los Angeles to Cancún, Houston to Mexico City and Chicago to Guadalajara are all international, so a four-hour delay creates no refund right at all.
One useful exception runs the other way. Puerto Rico is US territory, so New York to San Juan is a domestic itinerary and takes the three-hour threshold despite crossing 1,600 miles of ocean. Travellers routinely assume the opposite.
The mistake that costs the most money
Accepting something at the gate. The US refund right exists only while you decline the airline's alternative, so a rebooking tapped through in the app, or a travel credit accepted because the agent offered it and the queue was long, closes the entitlement to cash. Airlines are not doing anything improper by offering the credit first — it is simply cheaper for them, and the passenger who takes it has chosen.
So decide what you want before you reach the desk. If you need to get there, take the rebooking and stop thinking about the refund. If the trip no longer works, say plainly that you are declining the alternative and requesting a refund under § 260.6, and get that on record in writing or in chat where the timestamp survives.
Six real answers, worked through
Each of these is the checker's own output, not a summary of it — the same rules, the same wording, run on the server so the answer is here whether or not you use the form above. Every verdict names the provision it comes from.
My flight out of Europe was delayed by weather. The airline says that means they owe me nothing — is that right?
Madrid (MAD) → New York (JFK)·Given: 5-hour delay · weather or air traffic control
EU air passenger rights regulationNo cash, but they must still look after you
Regulation 261/2004 governs this departure, and you have said the cause was outside the airline's control. That defeats the cash: art. 5(3) excuses compensation for extraordinary circumstances. It does not excuse anything else. The duty to feed you, and to put you in a hotel if this runs overnight, has no time limit and no cash ceiling — the Court said so in McDonagh, decided about a volcano. If someone at the gate tells you a weather delay means no meal and no room, they are wrong.
Extraordinary circumstances — weather, an air traffic control strike, a bird strike — let the airline off the compensation. They do not touch this. In McDonagh v Ryanair the Court held the duty to look after you has no time limit and no cash ceiling, so a volcano does not end it. If a gate agent tells you a weather delay means no meal and no hotel, that is wrong.
What is owed
Meals, drinks and two free calls or emails. Article 9(1)(a) and 9(2), in reasonable relation to how long you are waiting. Owed whatever caused the delay — this is the part extraordinary circumstances does not touch. Keep receipts if they make you buy your own; reimbursement of a reasonable meal is the fallback when nobody hands out vouchers.
A hotel and the transfer to it, if this runs overnight. Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c), triggered once departure moves to the following day rather than by any number of hours. Also unconditional. If the airline says it has no rooms left, book your own and claim it back — but book something ordinary, because the standard is reasonable rather than whatever you would have preferred.
Your choice: a full refund, or getting there another way. Article 8(1). On a cancellation it is yours immediately; on a delay it opens at five hours. You pick — refund of the unused portion, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing later at your convenience. An airline that rebooks you unilaterally and calls the matter closed has skipped your part of the article.
Same weather delay, but leaving the UK. Did Brexit change the answer?
London (LHR) → New York (JFK)·Given: 5-hour delay · weather or air traffic control
UK air passenger rights regulation (CAA)No cash, but they must still look after you
The retained UK regulation governs this departure, and you have said the cause was outside the airline's control. That defeats the cash: art. 5(3) excuses compensation for extraordinary circumstances. It does not excuse anything else. The duty to feed you, and to put you in a hotel if this runs overnight, has no time limit and no cash ceiling — the Court said so in McDonagh, decided about a volcano. If someone at the gate tells you a weather delay means no meal and no room, they are wrong.
Extraordinary circumstances — weather, an air traffic control strike, a bird strike — let the airline off the compensation. They do not touch this. In McDonagh v Ryanair the Court held the duty to look after you has no time limit and no cash ceiling, so a volcano does not end it. If a gate agent tells you a weather delay means no meal and no hotel, that is wrong.
What is owed
Meals, drinks and two free calls or emails. Article 9(1)(a) and 9(2), in reasonable relation to how long you are waiting. Owed whatever caused the delay — this is the part extraordinary circumstances does not touch. Keep receipts if they make you buy your own; reimbursement of a reasonable meal is the fallback when nobody hands out vouchers.
A hotel and the transfer to it, if this runs overnight. Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c), triggered once departure moves to the following day rather than by any number of hours. Also unconditional. If the airline says it has no rooms left, book your own and claim it back — but book something ordinary, because the standard is reasonable rather than whatever you would have preferred.
Your choice: a full refund, or getting there another way. Article 8(1). On a cancellation it is yours immediately; on a delay it opens at five hours. You pick — refund of the unused portion, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing later at your convenience. An airline that rebooks you unilaterally and calls the matter closed has skipped your part of the article.
Four hours late leaving Europe and the airline caused it. How much cash is that worth?
Madrid (MAD) → New York (JFK)·Given: 4-hour delay · cause within the airline's control
EU air passenger rights regulationCompensation owed
Regulation 261/2004 governs this departure and you have said the cause was the airline's own. Your final destination is 5,762 km away, which puts you in the €600 bracket. A 4-hour delay is past the 3-hour mark, so the money is owed rather than requested. If they re-route you and you land close enough to your original arrival, art. 7(2) lets them pay €300 instead. This is compensation for the disruption itself, which no US rule provides — do not let it be settled with a voucher for the fare.
What is owed
A fixed cash sum for the disruption itself. Article 7 pays a flat figure set by distance, not by what your ticket cost — the cheapest seat on the flight and the most expensive one are owed exactly the same. It is separate from any refund: taking the money does not mean giving up your seat, and a voucher is not it unless you agree in writing.
Meals, drinks and two free calls or emails. Article 9(1)(a) and 9(2), in reasonable relation to how long you are waiting. Owed whatever caused the delay — this is the part extraordinary circumstances does not touch. Keep receipts if they make you buy your own; reimbursement of a reasonable meal is the fallback when nobody hands out vouchers.
A hotel and the transfer to it, if this runs overnight. Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c), triggered once departure moves to the following day rather than by any number of hours. Also unconditional. If the airline says it has no rooms left, book your own and claim it back — but book something ordinary, because the standard is reasonable rather than whatever you would have preferred.
Three hours late on a US domestic flight. What can I actually demand?
Los Angeles (LAX) → Chicago (ORD)·Given: 3-hour delay · cause within the airline's control
US Department of TransportationRefund owed
Both airports are in the United States or a US territory, so this is a domestic itinerary and the significant-delay threshold is 3 hours. A 3-hour delay meets it.
What is owed
Full refund of the fare, taxes and ancillary fees. Owed under § 260.6(a) — but only if you decline what the airline offers instead. Accepting a rebooking, voucher or travel credit ends the refund right. If you want your money back, say no to the alternative.
Paid back to your original form of payment. § 260.2 defines a prompt refund as 7 business days for a card purchase and 20 calendar days for anything else. Where you have refused a voucher, the airline cannot substitute one for cash.
No cash compensation on top of the refund. Unlike EU 261, US law requires no compensation for the disruption itself. Meals and hotels come from the carrier's own customer service plan under 14 CFR 259.5, so they differ by airline — worth asking for, but not a statutory right.
Four hours late on an international flight out of the US. Does that clear the threshold?
Los Angeles (LAX) → Cancún (CUN)·Given: 4-hour delay · cause within the airline's control
US Department of TransportationApplies, nothing owed yet
One end of this itinerary is in the United States, so Part 260 applies even on a foreign airline. It is an international itinerary, so the threshold is 6 hours, not 3. A 4-hour delay is 2 hours short of the 6-hour threshold, so no refund is owed. Anything offered to you now is the airline's own policy, not a legal entitlement.
Four hours late leaving Mexico, and it was the airline's fault. What is owed?
Mexico City (MEX) → Los Angeles (LAX)·Given: 4-hour delay · cause within the airline's control
Mexican Civil Aviation Law (PROFECO)Minimum discount owed
A 4-hour delay falls in the band over 2 hours but under 4, where the discount in the carrier's registered policy has a statutory floor.
What is owed
Discount of at least 7.5% of the ticket price. Section V(a) sets 7.5% as the minimum the carrier's published compensation policy may offer in this band. Those policies are filed with PROFECO every six months and are public, so you can check what your airline actually committed to.
Food, drink and access to calls or email while you wait. Compensation policies must include, as a minimum, discounts on a later flight to your contracted destination and/or food and drink. The carrier must also give waiting passengers access to phone calls and email.
Answers drawn from the published regulation, with the provision named so you can check it. This is not legal advice.
What is the two-hour rule for flight delay compensation?
There is no two-hour rule in United States law, and this is the most searched question on the subject. Nothing in 14 CFR part 260 or part 259 turns on two hours. The figure comes from Europe, where article 9 of Regulation 261/2004 starts the right to meals and drinks at two hours on the shortest flights — but that is care, not cash, and it does not apply to a domestic US itinerary at all. Cash compensation in Europe needs three hours at arrival, and the US refund right is triggered by a three-hour domestic or six-hour international delay under § 260.2. If an airline or a guide has told you two hours, ask which provision they mean.
How long does a flight have to be delayed before I am owed something?
It depends which body of law reaches your ticket, and the thresholds do not agree. For a refund under US § 260.2 it is three hours on a domestic itinerary and six on an international one. For cash under EU or UK 261 it is three hours late at the destination, measured when the door opens rather than when the wheels touch. Under Mexican art. 47 Bis it is one hour before you are owed discounts and food, and four hours before the indemnification of at least 25 percent applies. One delay can therefore clear one threshold and miss another, which is why the calculator asks where you departed rather than only how late you were.
Do I get a refund if the airline cancels, even on a non-refundable ticket?
Yes. A cancellation by the airline gives you a refund of the unused portion whatever fare rules you bought under, and the words non-refundable describe your right to change your mind, not the airline's obligation when it cancels. Section 260.3 makes this unconditional for a cancelled flight, with no threshold to reach and no cause to argue about — weather cancellations are refundable too. What you must not do is accept a rebooking or a credit first, because that is treated as taking the airline's remedy instead.
Can I claim meals and a hotel while I wait?
In the United States that is not a legal entitlement but a commitment each airline has filed for itself under 14 CFR § 259.5, which is why the answer differs by carrier and why asking usually works better than demanding. Every large US airline has committed in writing to meals for a delay of three hours or more, and most to a hotel for an overnight disruption within the airline's control. In Europe it is the opposite: article 9 care is owed regardless of what caused the delay, so weather and air traffic control do not excuse it. Our airline pages quote each carrier's own filed wording so you can read it to the desk agent.
Does US law give me cash compensation for a delay, like the EU does?
No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. EU Regulation 261 pays a fixed cash sum for the inconvenience itself. US law does not. What 14 CFR part 260 gives you is a refund — your money back for a flight you no longer want to take. Meals, hotels and rebooking come from each airline's own customer service plan filed under 14 CFR 259.5, which means they vary by carrier and are worth asking for but are not a legal entitlement.
Is the significant-delay threshold three hours or six?
Both, depending on the itinerary. Under § 260.2 it is three hours for a domestic itinerary and six hours for an international one. A Los Angeles to Cancún flight is international, so a four-hour delay does not reach the threshold even though the same four hours on a Los Angeles to Chicago flight would. Guides that quote a flat three hours are describing only the domestic case, which is why travellers on cross-border routes are told they have a claim when they do not.
Can an airline give me a voucher instead of a refund?
Not if you refuse it. The refund right under § 260.6 survives only while you decline the alternative. Accepting a rebooking, a voucher or travel credit is treated as taking the airline's remedy and ends the entitlement to cash. If you want your money back, say so before you accept anything, and say it in writing. Once the credit is in your account the argument is effectively over.
How long does the airline have to pay a refund?
Section 260.2 defines a prompt refund as seven business days where you paid by card and twenty calendar days for any other payment method. The clock runs from when the refund becomes due, not from when the airline gets round to processing it. If you pass those windows, that is the point at which a DOT complaint stops being a threat and becomes the appropriate next step.
My flight left Mexico. Do Mexican rules or US rules apply?
Often both, which is the case most published guides get wrong. Mexican law under art. 47 Bis binds the concession or permit holder for service provided in Mexico, so it covers a departure from a Mexican airport. US part 260 covers a ticket on any flight to, from, or within the United States, and it applies to foreign carriers too. A Cancún to Los Angeles flight therefore sits under both at once: the Mexican rule can owe you an indemnification of at least 25 percent while the US rule separately obliges a refund, and neither cancels out the other.
What does 'attributable to the carrier' mean in the Mexican rule?
Art. 47 Bis section V only owes compensation where the cause is the airline's own — crew shortages, maintenance, scheduling decisions. Weather and air traffic control restrictions fall outside it. This is the part no calculator can settle for you, because the airline states the cause and you may reasonably disagree with it. What you can do is ask for the cause in writing at the time, since a stated reason is much harder to revise later.
Where do I escalate if the airline simply refuses?
For a flight touching the United States, the DOT aviation consumer complaint form. Every complaint is forwarded to the airline, which must respond substantively, and the DOT publishes carrier complaint volumes — so filing has a cost to the airline beyond your individual case. For a departure from Mexico, PROFECO's Concilianet handles conciliation online. Both are free, and both work considerably better once you can quote the specific provision rather than describing how the day went.
Where these figures come from
Regulation14 CFR § 260.6· quoted from the regulation that sets it