Regulation 2026/261 is the EU's revised air passenger rights regulation that replaces the old EU 261/2004. It does not change the compensation amounts — €250, €400 and €600 (roughly SEK 2,800, 4,500 and 6,800) stay — but it rewrites several of the core terms that decide when the compensation is actually triggered: what counts as a delay that grounds compensation, which connecting flights are covered, and what an airline may lean on when it says no. Those are the new definitions in EU 261 2026 that this page goes through — one at a time, with a straight answer on what each one means for you as a passenger.
One thing first, because it is the point where most people get tripped up: this page is about the air-travel reform (Regulation 2026/261), not about the new rail passenger rights directive. If you search for "new passenger rights directive" you can end up in the wrong place — they are two different sets of rules.
Compensation is not a refund — and 2026 does not change that
Before we get into what changes, one thing has to be crystal clear, because it is this subject's most common misunderstanding. Compensation is a fixed flat amount — €250 to €600 — that you receive for the inconvenience of a long delay, a cancelled flight or denied boarding. A refund is something else: it is getting the ticket money back when you choose not to travel at all.
Regulation 2026/261 keeps the two terms apart exactly as 261/2004 did. You can in some situations be entitled to both at once — for example if your flight is cancelled: a refund for the ticket and compensation for the inconvenience. The reform does not touch that split. It is worth stating plainly, because airlines sometimes offer a refund and make it sound as if the matter is now closed.
What counts as a delay that grounds compensation
Under 261/2004, a principle has grown up through the Court of Justice of the EU rather than out of the text of the law itself: a delay of three hours or more on arrival at the final destination is treated as equivalent to a cancelled flight when it comes to the right to compensation (the ruling in the joined Sturgeon cases, C-402/07 and C-432/07). That the rule rested on case law and not on an explicit article has been a weakness — it has been easier to question.
The reform's stated purpose is to write the delay threshold straight into the regulatory text. That is an improvement in substance: a rule in the text of the law is harder for an airline to contest than a reference to a court ruling. We go through how the time limits change in 2026 in a section of its own.
But where the threshold lands is uncertain right now, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. The Council of the EU position from June 2025 wanted to raise the threshold — for shorter flights, four hours instead of three was discussed. Later Swedish reporting points the other way: Transportföretagen (the Confederation of Swedish Transport Enterprises) wrote in January 2026 that compensation "continues to be paid already after a three-hour delay regardless of the length of the flight". Until the final consolidated text in EUR-Lex is unambiguous, we treat the figure itself as not established. The detail around the threshold is gathered on the page about the new delay thresholds in the 2026 rules.
Connecting flights: which journey is assessed
Here there is a concrete improvement for anyone who flies with connections. Under 261/2004 it has been a recurring point of dispute what happens when a connecting flight is missed: is each leg assessed on its own, or the journey as a whole? The Court of Justice has, in several cases (including C-537/17, Wegener), established that a booking with a connection is to be seen as one continuous journey and that it is the delay at the final destination that counts — but even that has rested on case law.
The reform aims to write this into the text: a single booking is assessed as one journey, and it is the arrival time at the final destination that is the measure. What it means for you: if you booked the whole chain on one ticket and arrive late because of a missed connection, the claim should be assessed on the whole journey — not dismissed on the grounds that the individual leg was short in itself. If, on the other hand, you booked the legs separately with different airlines, the position is still weaker. There is more on that on our page about compensation for a missed connecting flight and in our breakdown of passenger rights under EU 261.
Extraordinary circumstances — and what force majeure is not
Airlines do not have to pay compensation if the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances outside their control. The term has been in 261/2004 but never exhaustively defined in the text of the law, which has made it an elastic clause — airlines have stretched it a long way.
The reform work touches exactly this. There is a concrete signal from SVT's reporting in May 2026: higher fuel prices do not count as force majeure. Put plainly: an airline should not be able to cancel a departure for pure cost reasons and then call it a circumstance outside its control. What will continue to count as extraordinary, on the other hand — extreme weather, air traffic control strikes, security threats — does not change in substance.
One important thing does not change at all: the duty of care. Even when compensation falls away because the disruption was extraordinary, the airline's duty to look after you remains — meals, drinks and a hotel if needed. That applies under 261/2004 and continues to apply under 2026/261.
This is not legal advice
This page is based on published and institutional sources — expert review is still pending. For advice on your individual case, turn to ARN (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden — the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) or Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency), which is the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden.
The rules around the 2026 reform are in transition and the wording in the final texts may be adjusted. We date and update this page when EUR-Lex, Transportstyrelsen or the Court of Justice of the EU brings out something new.
Frequently asked questions
Do the new definitions in Regulation 2026/261 apply to my flight already?
No. For a flight disrupted today, EU 261/2004 still applies. Regulation 2026/261 is published in EUR-Lex, but the substantive rules take effect after a transition period. Which set of rules governs your claim is decided by the date of the disruption itself — not by when you file the claim.
Do the compensation amounts of €250, €400 and €600 change in the 2026 rules?
The amounts of €250, €400 and €600 (roughly SEK 2,800, 4,500 and 6,800) remain in the texts published so far. EUR is the legal unit; the krona figures are approximate and move with the exchange rate. What changes is not the size of the compensation but the definitions that decide when it is triggered. We go through what changes with the 2026 reform in a section of its own.
What is the difference between compensation and a refund in the 2026 rules?
Compensation is a fixed flat amount for the inconvenience — €250 to €600. A refund is getting the ticket price back when you no longer want to travel. They are two separate rights, and 2026/261 keeps them apart just like 261/2004. You can in some cases be entitled to both.
Does a long delay still count as three hours in the 2026 rules?
The threshold for when a delay gives the right to compensation is the point in the reform where the reporting diverges. The Council of the EU position from June 2025 wanted to raise the threshold for shorter flights; later Swedish reporting (Transportföretagen, January 2026) states that three hours remains. Until the final consolidated text in EUR-Lex is unambiguous, we treat the threshold as not established — see our page on the new delay thresholds.
Sources and further reading
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2026/261 and Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
- Court of Justice of the EU — Sturgeon and Others, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07; Wegener, C-537/17
- Transportstyrelsen — Passenger rights (supervisory authority in Sweden)
- Konsumentverket — cancelled flights: when can you get compensation and help? (the Swedish Consumer Agency)
- ARN — Allmänna reklamationsnämnden — examines disputes at no cost to the consumer
If you want a wider overview of the reform, read our breakdown of EU 261's new rules for 2026. If you are wondering how a claim is filed after the reform, see the new claim process.
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