Compensation Legally reviewed
Reviewed by the Kravflyg Editorial Team7min read

Right to Care: Meals and a Hotel During a Flight Delay — the Duty That Always Applies

During a flight delay you have a right to meals, drinks and, if needed, a hotel — the right to care under EU 261 Article 9. It applies even when you receive no compensation. Here is what you can claim on the spot and what to do if the airline does not help. Reviewed May 2026.

Check your rights

Are you entitled to compensation?

If all 5 conditions below are met, it is very likely that you are entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004.

  • The flight departed from an airport within the EU, or landed in the EU and was operated by an EU-based airline.
  • The delay at the final destination was 3 hours or more — or the flight was cancelled or you were denied boarding.
  • You had a confirmed booking and checked in on time.
  • The airline did not give notice of the cancellation at least 14 days in advance.
  • The cause was not a genuine extraordinary circumstance (documented extreme weather, air-traffic-control strike and the like).
Start your claim →
Resenär som väntar lugnt med en kaffemugg och måltidskupong i en ljus flygplatsterminal under en flygförsening

When a flight is badly delayed or cancelled, you are entitled to more than just the wait. Under Article 9 of EU Regulation 261/2004, the airline must look after you while it lasts: meals and drinks, a hotel room if you have to stay overnight, transport to and from the hotel, and a way to get in touch. This obligation is known as the right to care, and the most important thing to know about it comes first: it applies even when you have no right to any financial compensation. Read more in the rules around cancelled flights .

The right to care and compensation are two different things

This is the crucial distinction, and most pages on the subject do not lead with it. When a flight is disrupted, you have two separate rights, and they are triggered by different things.

Compensation under Article 7 is a fixed amount — EUR 250, 400 or 600 (roughly SEK 2,800, 4,500 or 6,800) — for the disruption itself. The airline may avoid paying it if the delay was caused by an extraordinary circumstance beyond its control: extreme weather, an air traffic control strike, a security threat.

The right to care under Article 9 is something else. It is practical help here and now, and it is not conditional on the cause. Whether the delay was caused by fog, a strike or an ash cloud, the airline may escape compensation — but it never escapes the duty of care. You are stuck at the airport regardless of why, and the law places the responsibility for looking after you on the airline in every case. A forum thread about ATC delays puts it bluntly: "ATC delays are considered force majeure ... Only the duty of care applies." Exactly so — the care stays in place when everything else falls away.

What you are entitled to — and from what waiting time

The care phases in according to how long you wait and how far you are flying.

You are entitled to

When it applies

Meals and drinks

From roughly two hours of waiting on short flights, longer waits on longer routes

Two phone calls or messages

The same thresholds — so you can get in touch

A hotel room

When the delay means you have to wait overnight

Transport airport–hotel

In connection with an overnight hotel stay

The scale of the meals should be in reasonable proportion to the waiting time — a short delay means lighter refreshments, a long night means more. You are entitled to this regardless of whether the delay also gives you financial compensation in the end. If the disruption is connected to a cancelled flight, the same care applies; more on that on the page about compensation for a cancelled flight.

When you are stranded at the airport — an acute checklist

The most common situation in forum threads is the traveller who is "stuck at an airport ... with no explanation of what was happening." Here is what to do, in order:

  1. Find the airline staff. Go to the airline's desk or gate staff and explicitly ask for the meal vouchers and hotel booking you are entitled to under Article 9. Airlines do not always hand out care on their own initiative — you may have to ask for it.
  2. Ask for a statement of the cause. Ask in writing what the delay was caused by. It does not affect your right to care, but you will need it if you later also want to claim compensation.
  3. If you get no help — buy it yourself against a receipt. If the airline offers nothing, you may buy what is reasonably necessary yourself: food, drink, if needed a hotel room and the transport to it. Keep every receipt.
  4. Keep your spending moderate. You are entitled to what is reasonable and necessary, not to a luxury dinner or a suite. Proportionate expenses are the ones that get paid back without argument.
  5. Document it. Photograph the departure board, note the times, save texts and emails from the airline. That is your evidence.

How to get back what you spent

If you bought food or a hotel yourself because the airline did not help you, you claim the money back afterwards. Send a written claim to the airline, refer to Article 9 of EU 261/2004, briefly describe what happened and why you had to pay out of pocket, and attach the receipts. A do-it-yourself claimant in a Reddit thread sums up the evidence question: "If you claim compensation for a missed hotel night ... you need proof that you incurred the costs. Save your receipts."

If the airline says no or drags things out, the way forward is the same as for other flight claims — a complaint to ARN (the National Board for Consumer Disputes), contact with Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency). We walk through that whole process on the page about claiming flight compensation yourself.

And keep the two claims apart: reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses under the right to care is not the same as the flat-rate compensation of EUR 250–600. If the delay was not caused by an extraordinary circumstance, you may be entitled to both — your expenses back and the flat-rate amount. A combined picture of what you can claim is set out in flight delay compensation and in the overview of your passenger rights under EU 261.

This is not legal advice

This page is based on published and institutional sources — expert review has not yet been carried out. For advice on your individual case, contact Allmänna reklamationsnämnden / ARN (the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes) or Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency), the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have a right to meals and a hotel even if the delay was caused by weather?

Yes. The right to care — meals, drinks and, if needed, a hotel — applies regardless of the cause of the delay. It is separate from financial compensation. Even when the airline does not have to pay compensation because the delay was caused by an extraordinary circumstance such as extreme weather or an air traffic control strike, the duty to look after you during the wait still stands. We cover how much a delay can be worth in a section of its own.

The airline gave me nothing — can I buy what I need myself and get the money back?

Yes. If the airline does not offer the care you are entitled to, you may buy what is reasonably necessary yourself — food, drink and, if needed, a hotel room — and claim the cost back afterwards. Save every receipt. The claim is sent in writing to the airline with a reference to Article 9 of EU 261/2004. Keep your spending moderate and proportionate to the situation.

How long does the delay have to be before I get meals and drinks?

The right to care phases in according to the length of the wait and the flight distance, with the threshold at roughly two hours for the shortest flights and longer waits for longer routes. A hotel becomes relevant when the delay means you have to wait overnight. The scale of the meals should be in reasonable proportion to how long you wait.

Is the right to care the same thing as compensation?

No, they are two separate rights. The right to care under Article 9 is practical help during the wait — meals, a hotel, transport, a way to get in touch. Compensation under Article 7 is a fixed amount of EUR 250 to 600 for the disruption itself. You may be entitled to both at once, or only to care if the delay was caused by an extraordinary circumstance.

What do I do if I am stranded at the airport with no word on what is happening?

Find the airline staff or desk and explicitly ask for the meal vouchers and hotel booking you are entitled to under Article 9. If you get no help, document the situation — photograph the departure board, note the times — and buy what is reasonably necessary yourself against a receipt. Also ask for a written statement of the cause of the delay; you will need it later if you also want to claim compensation.

Sources and further reading

Last reviewed: 17 May 2026.

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