Delay Payout

Distance bands / Over 3,500 km

18 routes · long-haul

Flights over 3,500 km

Long-haul flights over 3,500 km pay the most: €600 under EU261 and £520 under UK261 — but only from 4 hours late. Between 3 and 4 hours the amount is €300 or £260.

1,500 km3,500 km1234
  1. 1Band edge 1,500 km
  2. 2Band edge 3,500 km
  3. 3EU261 €600
  4. 4UK261 £520
AMS–SFO8,786 kmLHR–LAX8,760 kmCDG–CUN8,218 kmMAD–MIA7,106 kmFCO–JFK6,866 kmMUC–YYZ6,641 kmFRA–JFK6,189 kmAMS–JFK5,848 kmCDG–JFK5,834 kmLHR–YYZ5,707 kmLHR–JFK5,540 kmCDG–YUL5,524 kmLHR–DXB5,498 kmLIS–EWR5,433 kmLHR–BOS5,240 kmAMS–DXB5,169 kmDUB–BOS4,803 kmJFK–LAX3,974 km
Great-circle distance of each route in this band, computed from airport coordinates. Bars to scale from zero.
EU261
€600
UK261
£520
Care from
4 h
Half if re-routed within
4 h

What the band pays

What happenedEU261UK261
Arrived 3+ hours late (4+ for the full sum)€600£520
Arrived 3 to 4 hours late€300£260
Cancelled at short notice or bumped€600£520
…re-routed, landing within 4 hours€300£260

This is the only band where the hours matter beyond the 3-hour trigger. The long-haul reduction comes from Article 7(2), which lets an airline halve the payment when the passenger is re-routed and lands within 4 hours; the Court of Justice and the regulators apply the same 3-to-4-hour logic to plain delays.

Routes in this band

The shortest route here is New York to Los Angeles at 3,974 km and the longest is Amsterdam to San Francisco at 8,786 km. 5 of the 18 touch a UK airport, and 12 touch an EU airport; 1 are purely North American, where the band has no effect because neither EU nor UK rules apply.

RouteDistanceRules that can apply
JFK–LAX New York–Los Angeles3,974 kmUS DOT
DUB–BOS Dublin–Boston4,803 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
AMS–DXB Amsterdam–Dubai5,169 kmEU261, UK261
LHR–BOS London–Boston5,240 kmUK261, US DOT
LIS–EWR Lisbon–Newark5,433 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
LHR–DXB London–Dubai5,498 kmUK261
CDG–YUL Paris–Montréal5,524 kmEU261, APPR, UK261
LHR–JFK London–New York5,540 kmUK261, US DOT
LHR–YYZ London–Toronto5,707 kmUK261, APPR
CDG–JFK Paris–New York5,834 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
AMS–JFK Amsterdam–New York5,848 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
FRA–JFK Frankfurt–New York6,189 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
MUC–YYZ Munich–Toronto6,641 kmEU261, APPR, UK261
FCO–JFK Rome–New York6,866 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
MAD–MIA Madrid–Miami7,106 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261
CDG–CUN Paris–Cancún8,218 kmEU261, UK261
LHR–LAX London–Los Angeles8,760 kmUK261, US DOT
AMS–SFO Amsterdam–San Francisco8,786 kmEU261, US DOT, UK261

Care while you wait

In this band, EU261 and UK261 require meals and refreshments once the departure is 4 hours late, and a hotel plus transport when the new departure is the next day. The duty applies even when the delay is caused by weather or air traffic control, because care is separate from compensation. If the airline does not provide it, buy what is reasonable, keep receipts and claim the cost back with the compensation claim.

Other bands

Source: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EUR-Lex); UK Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 7 (legislation.gov.uk); distances from airport coordinates (see methodology). Checked 2026-10-20.