Long-haul delay: when compensation is 300 or 600 euros

Most passengers remember the three-hour rule, but long-haul flights over 3,500 km have an important extra distinction. If arrival was between three and four hours late, compensation may be reduced. If the delay was over four hours, the full amount is checked under flight delay compensation.

That is why precise arrival evidence matters especially on long flights. Ten or fifteen minutes can change the amount. It is not enough to rely on landing time if the doors opened later and passengers could leave only then.

Route distance is not measured by ticket price or scheduled flight duration, but by the distance between the relevant airports. On connecting journeys under one booking, the final destination and the segment that caused the delay may become important.

If you are not sure about distance, do not guess the amount in the claim. It is better to state the route and request calculation under the rules. Flights from Europe toward the Middle East, North America or Asia often need this extra check.

When a long-haul flight arrives three hours or more late but less than four hours late, the case may qualify for reduced compensation if all other conditions are met. The delay reason still matters: a technical or operational reason is not the same as a safety restriction, severe weather or air traffic control decision.

In this range, timing evidence is especially important. If an app shows landing, not door opening, a dispute over a few minutes can arise. Save screenshots from different sources and every airline message.

When arrival on a long route was more than four hours late, the amount may be full if the route is covered and the reason is within the airline's responsibility. Payment is still not automatic because the airline may cite extraordinary circumstances.

If you receive a rejection, check whether it covers the whole delay period. Sometimes the initial event was extraordinary, but an additional operational delay later appeared and the airline has to explain that separately.

Send the route, distance if you have it, scheduled and actual arrival, door-opening evidence, delay reason and any waiting costs. If the flight was part of a connection, attach the full booking and new itinerary.

You do not have to insist on the exact amount if you are unsure. It is more important that the facts allow calculation. A good claim separates the amount question from the airline responsibility question.

The fastest way to review this type of case without messy rewriting is to put it into the same structure every time: route, one or several bookings, scheduled arrival, actual arrival, stated reason, assistance offered and costs. When every claim follows the same order, it is easier to compare cases and see what is missing.

For travelers who often fly from Belgrade, Nis, Kraljevo or through European hubs, this structure reduces mistakes. You do not need to decide again what to save: boarding pass, booking confirmation, airline messages, app screenshot, departures-board photo and receipts go into the same folder or note.

For long-haul delay: when compensation is 300 or 600 euros, the goal is not only to send a claim, but to send one that can be checked quickly. If the airline answers only partly, the structure shows which fact is missing and which follow-up should be requested instead of rewriting the whole story from the beginning.

A useful rule is that every item should have a source: time from the app, reason from a message, cost from a receipt and connection from the itinerary. If one item has no source, you know what to collect before sending.

If the journey continued on another flight or another mode of transport, keep the new itinerary and arrival time, because otherwise the comparison point stays unclear.

For long-haul delay: when compensation is 300 or 600 euros, first check whether the route is protected, then what actually happened, and only then which claim makes sense. Use Flight delay compensation for the baseline rule and amounts, while this page checks the concrete scenario and the evidence that changes it.

The best approach is to build a short timeline. Write down the scheduled time, actual time, where you were when the problem happened, what the airline offered, what you accepted and what you paid yourself. That timeline later decides whether the case is about fixed compensation, ticket refund, expense reimbursement or only care rights.

If the case involves arrival delay, a missed connection, rerouting or an overnight wait, also check flight delay compensation. Most practical passenger questions eventually depend on how late the whole journey ended and whether the reason was within the airline's control.

The strongest evidence is evidence from the same day: boarding pass, booking confirmation, airline messages, app screenshot, departures-board photo, receipts for food, hotel or transfer and any written information received at the airport.

If the reason was explained verbally, write down the exact wording, time and place. If the reason changed, keep every version. The difference between a technical fault, air traffic control, bad weather, strike and crew shortage is not a formality; it is often the line between a strong and weak claim.

In the claim, do not only say that you want compensation. Include flight number, date, route, booking reference, scheduled and actual arrival time, a short timeline and a clear separation between fixed compensation and expenses you want reimbursed.

The airline's first reply is often not a full assessment. It may contain broad wording, an automatically selected category or an answer that covers only one part of the claim. Read it carefully: does it address the exact flight, date, final destination and concrete reason that caused the disruption?

If the answer does not mention evidence, timeline or the measures the airline took, send a short follow-up. You do not need to repeat the whole story. Ask for a precise explanation and attach the most important proof again. That follow-up often separates genuinely weak cases from cases that were only rejected superficially.