Overnight Cancellation

Your flight was cancelled and you were stranded overnight at the airport

When a cancellation leaves you stranded overnight, EC261 Art.9 duty of care entitles you to hotel accommodation, transport, meals, and communication — on top of your right to cash compensation. Airlines often fail to arrange this properly.

Check My Flight

Compensation

Cash comp + hotel + meals + transport

Regulation

EC261 Art.9 · Art.7

Time Limit

2–6 years (varies by country)

What Counts

What is a Overnight Cancellation?

An overnight cancellation triggers two separate sets of rights: cash compensation under Art.7, AND duty of care under Art.9 which includes hotel, transport, meals, and communications.

This qualifies if…

Flight cancelled and no suitable rebooking available until the next day
Last flight of the day on your route cancelled
Rerouting offered but involves overnight connection
Delayed flight that extends into an overnight wait

Legal Basis

EC261 Art.9: Airlines must provide accommodation, transport between airport and hotel, meals, refreshments, and two free phone calls or emails when overnight waiting is required.

How Much

How much are you owed?

Cash compensation (Art.7) applies independently of duty of care (Art.9). Both are owed.

Scenario / Distance	Example	Amount	Note
Cash compensation (Art.7)	Route-based amount	€250 – €600	Depends on distance and notice given
Hotel accommodation (Art.9)	One or more nights	Reasonable hotel cost	Airline must arrange or reimburse
Meals and refreshments (Art.9)	During wait period	Reasonable amounts	Proportionate to waiting time
Transport hotel ↔ airport (Art.9)	Taxi, shuttle, etc.	Actual reasonable cost	Keep all receipts

Do I Qualify?

Eligibility checklist

Check these against your situation — the more you can tick, the stronger your claim.

Flight covered by EC261

Required

Cancellation resulted in overnight stranding at or near the airport

Required

Airline failed to arrange or offer hotel accommodation

Conditional

Airline failed to provide meals during the wait

Conditional

You incurred out-of-pocket hotel or meal expenses

Conditional

Not sure if you qualify? Submit your details via our free claim checker — we assess eligibility at no cost and no obligation.

Know Your Defences

Common excuses airlines use — and why they're wrong

"The cancellation was extraordinary — we don't owe you a hotel."

Wrong. Art.9 duty of care applies regardless of the reason for the cancellation. Even genuinely extraordinary circumstances (storms, ash clouds) do not remove the hotel obligation.

"We offered vouchers at the airport."

Vouchers must be adequate. If the airport hotel was full and you had to pay for your own accommodation, the airline must reimburse reasonable actual costs even if they offered vouchers that couldn't be used.

"It was a night flight — you didn't need a hotel room."

Duty of care kicks in when you're left waiting and there's no suitable continuation of travel. Even daytime stranding of 5+ hours triggers meal obligations. Overnight is the threshold for accommodation.

How It Works

How to claim — 3 steps

We handle everything from the first letter to final payment. You do nothing.

Keep ALL receipts

Hotel, taxis, meals, phone calls — everything. Take photos of your expenses. Airlines can only dispute 'unreasonable' amounts — a modest airport hotel and sensible meals are always claimable.

Submit compensation + care claim together

SkyVolo submits your Art.7 compensation claim and Art.9 care reimbursement in one go. We track both and chase both.

Get fully paid

You receive cash compensation plus reimbursement of documented out-of-pocket care expenses. We deduct our 25% fee only on the Art.7 compensation — care reimbursement is yours in full.

Common Questions