Norwegian flight delay — EU 261 compensation and how to claim it

A delayed or cancelled flight with Norwegian gives you the right to compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004 — €250, €400 or €600 (roughly SEK 2,800, 4,500 or 6,800) depending on the length of the flight, when the delay on arrival at your final destination is over three hours. The fact that Norwegian is a low-cost carrier changes nothing here. This page walks through how Norwegian's claim process works, where to turn, and how to escalate if the airline says no.

Budget carriers are not exempt from EU 261

This is worth settling first, because it is a recurring misunderstanding: a cheap flight does not give you weaker rights than an expensive one. EU 261/2004 draws no distinction between low-cost carriers and traditional network airlines. Norwegian, SAS, Ryanair and Wizz Air all fall under exactly the same regulation.

The logic behind that is simple. The compensation is a flat sum for the inconvenience of a long delay — not a refund tied to the ticket price. So the €250 payment can easily exceed what you paid for a cheap Norwegian ticket. That is entirely intentional. An airline charging a low fare gets no discount on the passenger's rights.

Norwegian claims are submitted through the passenger rights form on norwegian.com — with an explicit reference to EU 261/2004

How much compensation a Norwegian flight gives

EU 261 sorts flights into three distance bands by length. Norwegian's network is largely short- and medium-haul within Europe:

The euro figure is the legally binding one — that is the sum Norwegian has to pay. The krona figure is approximate and moves with the exchange rate. What counts is the delay on arrival at your final destination, not how late the plane left the gate. To see what your particular trip is worth, you can work out your flight compensation based on distance and delay length.

EU 261 also applies to Norwegian's purely Swedish domestic flights. A regulation called EU 261 sounds as though it would not touch domestic traffic, but it applies to every departure from an airport within the EU — and a departure from Arlanda or Landvetter is exactly that.

Compensation is not a refund

When Norwegian cancels a flight, two rights are easily confused. Compensation is the flat €250–600 for the inconvenience itself. A refund is your money back for a ticket you no longer intend to use. Read more in the guide to EU 261 .

With a cancelled flight, you have the right to choose between rebooking onto the next available departure and a refund of the ticket — and on top of that you may be entitled to the compensation. Norwegian refunding the ticket price or offering a CashPoints credit does not close the compensation question. Do not accept a credit as a "solution" to the compensation claim unless you explicitly want it. The dividing line is set out more fully in our guide to passenger rights under EU 261.

Norwegian's claim process — how to submit the claim

Norwegian handles EU 261 claims through its own customer service. The steps in practice:

1. Gather the paperwork. Booking reference, flight number (DY number), date, the airports involved, and receipts for any spending during the wait — meals, transport, hotel.
2. Submit the claim through Norwegian's passenger rights form. It is reached via norwegian.com under customer service, and in the Norwegian app. Write explicitly that you are claiming compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004, state the length of the arrival delay and the amount you believe you are owed.
3. Keep a copy of everything. Case number, dates and your own wording — this becomes your evidence if the case has to be escalated.
4. Ask for the cause in writing. Ask Norwegian to state what the disruption was caused by. You will need this if the airline later points to an extraordinary circumstance.
5. Wait for the reply — but not indefinitely. If processing drags on for months, that in itself is a reason to take the case further.

The whole process, including how to word a claim that is hard to dismiss, is covered in the guide to claiming flight compensation yourself.

When Norwegian says no — and how to escalate

As with most airlines, it is common for a compensation claim to be rejected in the first reply and paid only once the passenger pushes back. A first no should not be treated as a final answer.

The most common objections are that the delay was under three hours — check the arrival time, not the departure time — or that the disruption was an extraordinary circumstance. The latter is worth scrutinising. Extreme weather and an air traffic controllers' strike do count as extraordinary. A technical fault that belongs to routine maintenance, however, generally does not, even if Norwegian frames it that way. What actually applies is set out on the page about extraordinary circumstances.

If you get a no, a low counter-offer or simply silence, there is a free route forward:

• ARN (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden — the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) reviews the dispute at no cost to you and issues a recommendation that most airlines follow in practice.
• Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency) is the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden and can give guidance.
• Court is the last step — rarely necessary for a single EU 261 claim, but possible.

You can also hand the whole case to a claims service. More on that trade-off further down. The details on delays and cancelled flights are on the pages about flight delay compensation and cancelled flight compensation.

This is not legal advice

This page is based on EU Regulation 261/2004 and institutional sources. It is general information, not an assessment of your individual case — expert review is still pending. For advice on your specific situation, turn to ARN (the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) or Transportstyrelsen, the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden.

Pursue the claim yourself — or hand it over

Claiming compensation from Norwegian is free if you do it yourself following the steps above. It takes patience, especially if the airline says no first, but you keep the full amount. The guide to claiming flight compensation yourself takes you all the way.

If you would rather skip the fight itself, a claims service can handle the contact, paperwork and any dispute in exchange for a commission on the compensation paid out.

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Frequently asked questions

Norwegian's claim process step by step

Does EU 261 apply to Norwegian even though it is a low-cost carrier?

Yes, fully. EU 261/2004 draws no distinction between budget and network airlines. Norwegian, SAS and Ryanair all fall under exactly the same rules. A cheap flight gives you the same right to compensation as an expensive one — the amount is €250 to €600 regardless of what the ticket cost. Read more in the guide to flight delay compensation .

How much compensation can I get for a delayed Norwegian flight?

The amount is €250, €400 or €600 (roughly SEK 2,800, 4,500 or 6,800) depending on flight distance. A Norwegian route within Scandinavia normally gives €250; Stockholm to a southern European destination gives €400; any long-haul route over 3,500 km gives €600. The delay must be at least three hours at your final destination.

How do I claim compensation from Norwegian?

You submit the claim through Norwegian customer service, normally via the passenger rights form on norwegian.com or in the Norwegian app. Provide your booking reference, flight number, date and an explicit reference to EU 261/2004. If you get a no or no reply at all, you can take the case further free of charge to ARN, the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes.

Norwegian rejected my claim — what do I do?

A no in the first reply is common and should not be treated as a final answer. Ask Norwegian to state the cause of the disruption in writing, push back if it looks doubtful, and escalate to ARN (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden — the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes), which reviews the dispute free of charge. Its recommendation is followed in practice by most airlines.

Does compensation apply if Norwegian cancelled the flight because of weather?

No, not if the weather was the genuine cause. Extreme weather counts as an extraordinary circumstance outside the airline's control and removes the right to compensation. Norwegian's duty of care — meals, drinks and a hotel if needed — still applies. But Norwegian pointing to weather does not automatically make the cause extraordinary.

Is compensation the same as getting your ticket money back?

No. Compensation is a fixed flat sum of €250 to €600 for the inconvenience. A refund is getting the ticket price back when you choose not to travel. They are two separate rights. After a cancelled Norwegian flight you may, in some cases, be entitled to both at once.

Sources and further reading

• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
• Court of Justice of the EU — Sturgeon and Others, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (the three-hour rule)
• Transportstyrelsen — Passenger rights (the supervisory authority in Sweden)
• Konsumentverket (the Swedish Consumer Agency) — delayed and cancelled flights
• ARN — Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) — reviews disputes free of charge for the consumer

Last reviewed: 17 May 2026.