Flight compensation under EU 261 is a fixed sum of EUR 250, 400 or 600 — roughly PLN 1,100, 1,750 or 2,700 at current rates. Which of the three amounts you can claim depends on two facts only: how far the flight was meant to travel and how late you actually arrived at your final destination. It has nothing to do with what the ticket cost. The calculator below combines those inputs and shows an estimate, and the rest of this page explains, step by step, how it reaches that number — so the result is not a black box you are asked to trust on faith.
Interactive calculator: enter flight distance, delay length and disruption cause — get an estimated EU 261 compensation amount for your Polish departure or arrival.
If you would rather skip the analysis and have a specialist look at the case for you, you can check your flight with AirHelp in under two minutes — they only get paid if your claim succeeds.
What the Calculator Asks For — and Why
The calculator asks only a handful of questions, and each one maps directly to a condition in Regulation (EC) No 261/2004.
Departure and arrival airport. From these the flight distance is computed in kilometres, measured as the crow flies between the two airports (great-circle distance). The actual flight path does not matter for EU 261 — it is the great-circle figure that drops your case into the right distance band. A trip from Warsaw Chopin to Madrid Barajas, for example, is roughly 2,290 km, putting it firmly in the middle EUR 400 tier.
How long the delay was. What counts is the delay on arrival at the final destination — measured by when the aircraft door opens — not how late the plane pushed back. The threshold is three hours. If you arrived less than three hours late, there is normally no right to fixed compensation, however irritating the wait at the gate may have been.
The type of disruption. A long delay, a cancelled flight and denied boarding are scored slightly differently. A flight cancelled with less than 14 days' notice is not handled exactly like a long delay, even though both can lead to the same EUR 250–600 sum.
The cause the airline gave. This is the question most passengers underestimate. If the disruption was caused by an extraordinary circumstance beyond the carrier's control — extreme weather, an air traffic control strike, a security threat — the right to compensation falls away even on a long delay. If the cause was something the airline answers for, such as a routine technical fault or a crew-shortage issue, the right stays in place. The calculator will flag the cause but it will not pretend to settle disputed ones for you.
How the Amount Is Worked Out — the Three Distance Tiers
EU 261 divides flights into three distance bands. The calculator uses the same split:
- EUR 250 for flights up to 1,500 km — for example Warsaw to Vienna, Kraków to Frankfurt, Gdańsk to Stockholm.
- EUR 400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km — Warsaw to Lisbon, Kraków to Athens, Wrocław to Tel Aviv.
- EUR 600 for flights over 3,500 km between an EU airport and a non-EU airport — Warsaw to New York, Kraków to Dubai, Katowice to Doha.
The euro amount is the legally binding figure — that is the sum the airline must pay. The złoty equivalents fluctuate with the exchange rate, so they are an indicator, not a fixed number.
One detail that is easy to miss on the longest band: on a flight over 3,500 km between the EU and a non-EU country, the airline may halve the compensation to EUR 300 if you were re-routed and reached your final destination with a delay of less than four hours. The calculator factors this in once you enter the actual arrival delay.
Compensation Is Not a Refund — Two Separate Rights
Before you trust any number, you need to know what the number is. The calculator works out compensation — the fixed flat-rate sum for the inconvenience of the disruption itself. It does not work out a refund, which is money returned for a ticket you no longer intend to use.
These are two distinct rights under EU 261. If your flight is cancelled, you can choose either re-routing or a ticket refund — and on top of that you may be entitled to compensation of EUR 250 to 600. Airlines sometimes offer a refund and present it as if the matter is closed. It is not. The calculator keeps the two items apart, and so should you. For the full picture on the difference, see our overview of passenger rights and what flights are eligible .
When the Calculator Says Zero — and When It Can Still Be Wrong
If the result comes out at zero, the cause is usually one of three things: the arrival delay was under three hours, the airline has cited an extraordinary circumstance, or the flight falls entirely outside EU 261's geographic scope (for instance, an LOT-operated route between two non-EU airports, or a non-EU carrier flying you from a non-EU airport into Warsaw).
Here is the honest caveat. Just because an airline calls a cause "extraordinary" does not mean it actually is. The Court of Justice of the European Union has narrowed the term considerably:
- Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) — technical defects that arise in the ordinary exercise of a carrier's activity are not extraordinary circumstances. The airline cannot offload its own maintenance problems onto the passenger.
- van der Lans (C-257/14, 2015) — a technical malfunction that surfaces during routine maintenance, or that arises from the premature failure of a component, is still not extraordinary, even when the defect was unforeseen.
- Krüsemann (C-195/17, 2018) — a wildcat strike by the carrier's own staff is part of normal business risk and does not qualify as an extraordinary circumstance.
So if the calculator returns zero because the airline blamed a "technical issue" or a strike by its own crew, the matter is not necessarily closed. Read what actually counts as an extraordinary circumstance before you drop the case.
Regardless of whether compensation falls away, the right to care does not. The airline still has to provide meals, drinks and — where the wait requires it — a hotel and transport. That obligation runs through the disruption, full stop.
The Result — and Your Two Routes Forward
The calculator gives you an estimate, not a legal decision. If it tells you your case looks eligible, you have two legitimate routes forward:
1. Claim it yourself — it costs nothing. You contact the airline directly with the flight number, date and a reference to EU 261/2004, and you hold your ground if they refuse at first attempt. If they ignore you or reject the claim without proper grounds, the next stop is the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) — the Passenger Rights Ombudsman — which sits at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC), the Polish Civil Aviation Authority. The RPP runs a free, out-of-court mediation service for passengers departing from Polish airports or flying to Poland on EU carriers. If mediation fails, you can take the airline to the Sąd Rejonowy (district court), and under Polish civil law you have a generous 10-year prescription period to do so — confirmed by the CJEU in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013), which held that national limitation periods apply to EU 261 claims and Polish law's standard 10-year window is exceptionally favourable to passengers.
2. Hand the case to a claim service. A service such as AirHelp deals with the airline contact, the paperwork and any subsequent dispute, and takes a commission from what is paid out only if the claim succeeds. You get less than the full amount but you skip the back-and-forth entirely. Which route makes sense depends on how you value your time and how strong the airline's defence looks. We cover the trade-off in detail in claim yourself or use a service . For the full DIY walk-through, see the Polish-language version on lotzwrot.com and our English court guide .
Want a specialist to handle it? Check your flight with AirHelp — the service works on commission, so you only pay if they get the claim through. You can also pursue the case for free yourself, through the airline and RPP/ULC.
This Is Not Legal Advice — Institutional Sources
The calculator and the text on this page rest on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and on settled CJEU case-law. This is general information, not an assessment of your particular case — expert legal review has not been carried out on your individual flight. For advice tailored to your specific situation in Poland, contact the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC), which is the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Poland.
A calculated amount is a starting point, not a guarantee. The final word lies with the airline, the RPP, or, as a last resort, the Sąd Rejonowy.
Two further CJEU rulings worth knowing about, because both expand what the calculator can legitimately cover:
- Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013) — on a connecting flight, what matters is the delay at the final destination, not at any intermediate stop. So if your Warsaw–Frankfurt leg landed on time but the Frankfurt–New York connection got you to JFK five hours late, the calculator should be fed the final-destination delay, and you may be entitled to the full EUR 600.
- Wegener (C-537/17, 2018) — connecting flights bought on a single booking count as a single transport unit for EU 261 purposes, even when one leg leaves from a non-EU airport, provided the first departure is from the EU.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the calculator work out my flight compensation?
The calculator uses two facts: the great-circle distance of the flight in kilometres and the arrival delay at your final destination. The distance puts you in one of three bands (EUR 250, 400 or 600) and the delay decides whether the three-hour Sturgeon threshold has been crossed. It also asks for the cause, because an extraordinary circumstance can wipe out the right to compensation. The output is an estimate grounded in EU 261/2004 — not a binding decision.
Does the difference between compensation and a refund matter in the calculator?
Yes. The calculator works out compensation — the fixed EUR 250 to 600 sum for the inconvenience. It does not calculate a refund, which is the ticket price returned because you no longer intend to use the trip. They are two separate rights, and with a cancelled flight you may be entitled to both at the same time.
What does it cost to use the calculator and pursue the claim?
The calculator is free, with no login or card details required. Pursuing the claim itself is also free if you do it yourself with the airline, and free again at the RPP/ULC if the airline refuses. A court action at the Sąd Rejonowy involves filing fees but no obligatory lawyer. A claim service such as AirHelp takes a commission on the amount paid out — the calculation itself costs nothing whichever route you choose.
Are the złoty amounts in the calculator exact?
No, the złoty figures are approximate. EU 261 states the compensation in euros — EUR 250, 400 and 600 — and that is the legally binding unit the airline must pay. The PLN equivalents of roughly 1,100, 1,750 and 2,700 move with the EUR/PLN exchange rate, so treat them as a guide only.
Is the calculator answer enough to actually claim the money?
It tells you whether your situation looks eligible and what amount is on the table. It does not file the claim for you. The next step is to write to the airline with the flight number, date and a reference to EU 261/2004 — either yourself or through a claim service. The calculator gives you a starting point, not a finished decision.
How long do I have to claim in Poland?
Polish civil law sets a 10-year prescription period for EU 261 claims — one of the most passenger-friendly limits in the EU. The CJEU confirmed in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) that national limitation periods govern these claims, and Poland's standard 10 years applies. Even so, the sooner you start, the easier it is to gather evidence — boarding passes, written excuses from the airline, witness statements.
Sources and Further Reading
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — distance bands and threshold values, Article 7.
- Court of Justice of the EU — Sturgeon and Others, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (the three-hour rule for delays).
- Court of Justice of the EU — Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (national prescription periods apply to EU 261).
- Court of Justice of the EU — Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 (technical defects are not extraordinary).
- Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC) — Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) — supervisory authority and ombudsman for air passenger rights in Poland.
- Polish native-language version of this guide on lotzwrot.com .
Last reviewed: 2 June 2026.