When a flight from or to Poland 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 between the airport and the hotel, and two phone calls or messages so you can let people know what is happening. This obligation is called the right to care, and the most important thing to know about it comes first: it applies even when you have no claim to financial compensation. For a parallel view of cash payouts, see our piece on flight cancellation compensation .
The right to care and compensation are two different things
This is the crucial distinction, and most pages on the subject bury 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 PLN 1,080, 1,730 or 2,600) — 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 outside the carrier, a credible security threat, certain medical diversions.
The right to care under Article 9 is something else entirely. It is practical help here and now, and it is not conditional on the cause. Whether the disruption was triggered by fog over Chopin Airport, a wildcat strike, a volcanic ash cloud, or a routine technical fault, the airline may escape compensation in some of those scenarios — but it never escapes the duty of care. You are stuck at the terminal regardless of why, and the regulation places the responsibility for looking after you on the carrier in every case.
The Court of Justice of the European Union made this explicit in McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013), decided after the Eyjafjallajökull eruption: a volcanic ash cloud counts as an extraordinary circumstance that wipes out compensation, but the duty of care under Article 9 still binds the carrier and has no monetary ceiling. 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 in reasonable relation to the wait | From about 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km; 3 hours on intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights 1,500–3,500 km; 4 hours on all other flights |
| Two phone calls, telex, fax messages or emails | The same thresholds — so you can reach family, work, or your onward transport |
| A hotel room | When the delay means you have to wait overnight or longer than the passenger reasonably expected |
| Transport between the airport and the place of accommodation | In connection with an overnight hotel stay |
The scale of meals should be proportionate to the wait — light refreshments for a short delay, a full meal for a long evening, breakfast the following morning if you have stayed overnight. You are entitled to all of this regardless of whether the delay also gives you cash compensation in the end. The same care obligations apply during cancellations and denied boarding.
CJEU case law that makes the care obligation enforceable
Polish courts and the ULC apply EU 261 in line with rulings from the Court of Justice. Three rulings matter most for the right to care:
- McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) — extraordinary circumstances such as an ash cloud lift the compensation duty but leave Article 9 fully in force. The Court rejected any time limit or financial cap on care, even during massive multi-day disruptions. See the full text on EUR-Lex .
- Sturgeon (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) — a delay of 3 hours or more at the final destination triggers the same compensation entitlement as a cancellation. The care obligations under Article 9 fire much earlier (from 2 hours on short routes), so the carrier's duty to feed and accommodate you can begin long before any cash claim ripens.
- Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) — a technical defect on the aircraft is not, by itself, an extraordinary circumstance. If the airline tries to blame a "technical issue" for refusing to provide care, that defence has no basis in EU law; care is owed regardless.
For connecting itineraries, Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013) confirmed that the relevant delay is measured at the final destination — so if a 90-minute delay out of Warsaw cascades into a 6-hour late arrival in New York via Frankfurt, the care thresholds apply on each leg where you are forced to wait, and compensation is calculated against the final-destination delay. Wegener (C-537/17, 2018) further confirmed that a multi-segment booking is a single transport unit for EU 261 purposes.
When you are stranded at a Polish airport — an acute checklist
The most common situation passengers describe in complaint files at the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (Passenger Rights Ombudsman, part of ULC) is a traveller stuck at Chopin, Pyrzowice, Balice or Lublinek with no information and no offer of food or a hotel. Here is what to do, in order:
- Find the airline staff. Go to the carrier's desk or gate and explicitly ask for the meal vouchers and hotel booking you are entitled to under Article 9 of EU 261/2004. Airlines do not always hand out care on their own initiative — you may have to name the regulation.
- Ask for a written statement of the cause. Request, in writing or by email to the airline's customer service address, the reason for the delay. It does not change your right to care, but you will need it later to claim compensation.
- If you get no help — buy it yourself against receipts. If the airline offers nothing, you may purchase what is reasonably necessary: food, non-alcoholic drinks, a modest hotel room if you must stay overnight, and the taxi or train between the airport and the hotel. Keep every receipt and every confirmation email.
- Keep your spending moderate. You are entitled to what is reasonable and necessary, not to a five-star suite or a wine-paired tasting menu. Proportionate expenses are the ones that get refunded without argument.
- Document everything. Photograph the departure board showing the delay or cancellation, save text messages and emails from the airline, note exact timestamps. That is your evidence file if the carrier later disputes the claim.
For a deeper breakdown of the complaint pathway through Polish institutions, see our guide to filing a complaint with the RPP at ULC .
How to get your money back
If you bought food or a hotel yourself because the airline did not help, you reclaim the cost afterwards. Send a written claim to the carrier — by registered email or via its online claim form — referring to Article 9 of EU 261/2004. Describe briefly what happened, why you had to pay out of pocket, and attach scans of every receipt.
If the airline refuses or stalls beyond the 30-day reply window most carriers operate, escalate. In Poland the supervisory body is the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC), and within it the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) runs a free out-of-court mediation route for EU 261 disputes. You file the case online; the RPP corresponds with the airline and proposes a settlement. The process typically takes a few months.
If mediation fails, the next step is the civil courts. EU 261 claims against airlines flying from Polish airports fall to the Sąd Rejonowy (District Court). Under Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) the CJEU confirmed that national prescription periods apply to EU 261 claims, and Polish civil law gives you a generous window: the 10-year general prescription period under Article 118 of the Polish Civil Code (kodeks cywilny) applies, since EU 261 claims are not classified as periodic or business-activity claims that would trigger the shorter 3-year limit. That makes it perfectly safe to claim a refund for a hotel night you paid for in 2024 well into the next decade — though you should always claim promptly while receipts and evidence are fresh.
Keep the two claims separate in your head: reimbursement of out-of-pocket care under Article 9 is not the same as the flat-rate compensation of EUR 250–600 under Article 7. If the delay was not caused by an extraordinary circumstance, you may be entitled to both — your expenses back and the flat-rate amount. Our overview of delay compensation rules sets out the full picture; the comparison piece on doing it yourself versus hiring a company explains the trade-offs of each route.
Want to skip the back-and-forth? A specialist claims firm will pursue both the care reimbursement and the flat-rate compensation on no-win, no-fee terms.
Get your meal, hotel and EU 261 compensation refunded with AirHelp — no win, no fee
Common airline excuses — and why they do not work
Carriers occasionally tell passengers that "the delay is force majeure, so no care is owed." That is wrong, and it conflates two rules. The McDonagh judgment above settles the point: extraordinary circumstances suspend the right to compensation, not the right to care.
Two further excuses come up often:
- "The airport is responsible, not us." Not for care under EU 261. The operating air carrier is the addressee of Article 9, full stop. Wirth (C-532/17, 2018) clarified that when a flight is wet-leased from another carrier, the operating carrier remains liable to passengers — so airline-to-airline blame games do not erase your rights.
- "You should have used travel insurance." Travel insurance is your own contract with the insurer; it does not extinguish the carrier's statutory obligation. If your insurance pays first, you may have to reassign the claim to the insurer, but the airline still owes someone — and you are entitled to be made whole.
If the carrier alleges a strike as the cause, note that Krüsemann (C-195/17, 2018) held that a so-called wildcat strike by the carrier's own crew is not an extraordinary circumstance — meaning both care and compensation are owed. External strikes by air traffic control or airport ground staff are treated differently, but care remains owed in every case.
This is not legal advice
This page is based on published institutional sources — Polish Civil Aviation Law (Prawo lotnicze), EU Regulation 261/2004, CJEU case law, and guidance from the ULC and the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów. It has not yet been reviewed by a practising aviation lawyer. For advice on your specific case, contact the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów at ULC, your local consumer ombudsman (Miejski/Powiatowy Rzecznik Konsumentów), or a qualified lawyer specialising in passenger rights.
If you read Polish, the native-language version of this guide is available — see the Polish edition of the right-to-care guide on the main site.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have the right to meals and a hotel even if the delay was caused by weather?
Yes. The right to care — meals, drinks and, when needed, a hotel and transport — applies regardless of the cause of the delay. It is separate from financial compensation. Even when the airline owes no compensation because the delay was triggered by an extraordinary circumstance such as extreme weather, a volcanic ash cloud or an external air traffic control strike, the duty to look after you during the wait still stands. The CJEU confirmed this in McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013).
The airline gave me nothing — can I buy what I need and reclaim the cost?
Yes. If the carrier does not offer the care it owes you, you may purchase what is reasonably necessary — food, non-alcoholic drinks and a modest hotel room if you must wait overnight — and claim the cost back afterwards. Save every receipt. Send a written claim to the airline referring to Article 9 of EU 261/2004. Keep spending proportionate: airlines refund moderate, necessary costs without dispute, but will push back on luxury upgrades.
How long does the delay have to be before I get meals and drinks?
The thresholds depend on flight distance: from 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours on intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other routes between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 4 hours on all other flights. A hotel and transport become relevant once the delay forces you to wait overnight or otherwise stays in place longer than the passenger could reasonably have expected.
Is the right to care the same as financial compensation?
No. They are two separate rights. The right to care under Article 9 is practical help during the wait — meals, drinks, two communications, a hotel and transport when needed. Compensation under Article 7 is a flat-rate cash payment of EUR 250 to 600 for the disruption itself. You may be entitled to both at once when the cause is within the airline's control, or only to care when an extraordinary circumstance applies.
What is the time limit for claiming care reimbursement in Poland?
The CJEU in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) confirmed that national prescription periods apply to EU 261 claims. In Poland, the general 10-year limitation period from Article 118 of the Civil Code applies to EU 261 reimbursement claims because they are not classified as periodic or business-activity claims (which would trigger the shorter 3-year rule). That gives Polish passengers far more generous deadlines than most other EU jurisdictions — but you should still file promptly while evidence is fresh.
Where do I complain in Poland if the airline refuses to pay?
The first port of call is the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC) — a free out-of-court mediation body for EU 261 disputes. You file online, the RPP corresponds with the carrier, and a settlement is proposed within a few months. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, the next forum is the Sąd Rejonowy (District Court), where you can sue the airline directly. Read our step-by-step on filing a complaint with the RPP at ULC for the full procedure.
Sources and further reading
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 , in particular Article 9 (right to care) and Article 7 (compensation)
- CJEU — McDonagh, C-12/11 (2013); Sturgeon, joined C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009); Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 (2008); Folkerts, C-11/11 (2013); Wegener, C-537/17 (2018); Wirth, C-532/17 (2018); Krüsemann, C-195/17 (2018); Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (2013)
- Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC) — Polish Civil Aviation Authority, the national EU 261 supervisory body
- Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at ULC — free mediation for passenger-rights disputes
- Polish Civil Code (kodeks cywilny), Article 118 — 10-year general prescription period applicable to EU 261 reimbursement claims
Last reviewed: 2 June 2026.