When your flight is delayed, the law doesn't just promise compensation after the fact - it requires the airline to take care of you while you're stuck at the airport. Free meals at 2 hours. Hotels for overnight delays. Transport between the airport and the hotel. Information updates at regular intervals. The right to refuse a worse rebooking. Most passengers don't know these "care" rights exist, and airlines routinely fail to provide them - one European Commission audit found that less than 40 percent of EU passengers in long delays received the care they were entitled to.
At Gyro, we've reimbursed thousands of passengers for meals, hotels, and transport they paid out of pocket because the airline didn't provide what the law required. This guide is your practical playbook for the worst part of any delay: the wait itself.
Care obligations escalate with delay length and depend heavily on which country's law applies.
From our claims experience: airlines often provide care reluctantly or partially - a single meal voucher worth €10 for a 6-hour delay, for example. Document what you receive vs. what's reasonable, and pay out of pocket if necessary. The airline must reimburse "reasonable" expenses on top of any compensation owed.
The 2-hour threshold is firm under EU 261 and triggers the same obligations regardless of delay cause.
From our claims experience: airlines underprovide meal vouchers more than any other care item. A €10 voucher for a 6-hour delay at Heathrow doesn't buy much. Eat what you need, keep receipts, claim reimbursement.
Overnight delays trigger the strongest set of care obligations - hotel, transport, and continued meals.
From our claims experience: this is where airlines most often shirk obligations. Common patterns include "we don't have hotel availability" (often inaccurate), offering hotels 40+ minutes from the airport, or refusing transport coverage. If the airline refuses or fails to arrange, book a reasonable hotel yourself and claim reimbursement. Document the refusal in writing if possible.
EU 261 requires "regular updates" but doesn't specify intervals. The Court of Justice has interpreted this as meaningful communication, not boilerplate announcements.
Yes, but only if you inform the airline first and get their confirmation in writing.
From our claims experience: passengers who leave the airport without informing the airline lose roughly half the cases we'd otherwise win. The risk isn't theoretical - the airline's defense is "we tried to contact you and you weren't reachable." Documentation prevents this.
Care obligations apply regardless of cause. This is one of the most important and least-known rules in EC 261.
From our claims experience: this is the airline misinformation we encounter most often. Customer service reps frequently tell passengers "It's not our fault, we don't owe you anything." That's wrong on care obligations specifically - the airline owes you food, shelter, and transport even when the delay is genuinely outside their control.
The differences are significant and worth knowing before booking high-risk trips.
US carriers' voluntary commitments vary widely. The DOT publishes a customer service dashboard showing each airline's policy on meals, hotels, ground transport, and rebooking during controllable delays. Alaska, Delta, and JetBlue lead on voluntary commitments; Spirit and Frontier offer the least.
You have specific rights to reject offers that don't meet your statutory entitlement.
Flight delays are usually framed as "what compensation am I owed" - and that's the right question for the end of the story. But during the delay itself, a different set of rights applies: care obligations that include meals, hotels, transport, and information updates. These rights are stronger than most passengers realize. They apply regardless of cause. They're enforceable through reimbursement claims even when the airline fails to provide them. And they exist on top of any compensation owed after the fact.
The pattern from our claims experience is that passengers who document care failures - missing meal vouchers, refused hotels, lack of information - turn those failures into reimbursement claims that often exceed the original meal cost. A €15 sandwich at Heathrow plus a €180 hotel plus a €60 taxi can quickly become a €255 reimbursement claim, separate from any EC 261 compensation.
The practical playbook is simple: stay at the airport when possible, document everything, demand what the law requires (meals at 2 hours, hotel for overnight), pay out of pocket when the airline fails, and claim reimbursement after with receipts. The cost of being wrong about your rights is just keeping the receipts you'd have anyway. The cost of being right is meaningful money recovered.
If you've had a long delay in the last 1-6 years (depending on jurisdiction) and paid out of pocket for meals, hotel, or transport that the airline should have covered, you may still be able to claim reimbursement. Care expenses are separate from compensation and the deadlines are the same as for EC 261 claims overall.
If your flight was delayed 3+ hours, you may be owed €250 to €600 under EC 261 - or potentially more under the Montreal Convention. Gyro checks your eligibility for free. You keep 100% of whatever the airline pays.
Increasing levels of "care" the longer the delay runs.
For further reading: How Long Can a Flight Be Delayed?
Mostly no — care is at the airline's discretion in the US.
Yes, but inform the airline first and get written confirmation before leaving.
Your rights upgrade — cancellation is actually more favorable than a long delay.
For further reading: How to Get a Refund on a Cancelled Flight
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