When an airline cancels your flight, your rights under EC261 are arguably even stronger than for delays. A cancellation triggers three separate entitlements: the right to compensation, the right to choose between a refund and rebooking, and the right to care while you wait. Understanding how these work together puts you in a far stronger position than most passengers find themselves in at a chaotic airport check-in desk.
Article 5 — Cancellation
"In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall [...] have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless (i) they are informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure." — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 5(1)(c)
The 14-day notification rule
The key factor for cancellation compensation is how much notice you received. If the airline informed you of the cancellation at least 14 days before your scheduled departure, no compensation is due, the rationale being that you had sufficient time to make alternative arrangements. If you were told less than 14 days in advance, compensation is due unless the airline can demonstrate extraordinary circumstances.
Between 7 and 14 days, the airline can avoid compensation if it offers you rebooking that departs no more than 2 hours before and arrives no more than 4 hours after your original schedule. With less than 7 days' notice, the window is even tighter: departure no more than 1 hour early and arrival no more than 2 hours late.
Notice period and compensation
14+ days notice: no compensation owed. 7–13 days with suitable rebooking: no compensation. Less than 7 days with suitable rebooking: no compensation. All other cases: full compensation of €250–€600 based on distance.
Your three options after cancellation
When a flight is cancelled, EC261 gives you a choice, and it is your choice, not the airline's. The airline must offer you all three options and let you decide which suits your situation best.
Option 1: Full refund. A complete refund of the ticket price for the part of the journey not made, plus for any parts already made if the flight no longer serves any purpose. The refund must be in money (not vouchers) and must be paid within seven days.
Option 2: Rebooking at the earliest opportunity. The airline arranges alternative transport to your final destination at the earliest possible opportunity, under comparable conditions. This could be on another of the airline's flights, or on a competitor airline if that is faster.
Option 3: Rebooking at a later date. If you no longer need to travel immediately, you can request rebooking on a flight at a later date of your convenience, subject to seat availability.
These options are in addition to compensation, not instead of it. You can accept rebooking and still claim your €250 to €600.
Compensation amounts
Cancellation compensation follows the same distance-based formula as delays. The amounts are fixed by law and do not depend on the price you paid for your ticket.
€250 — €600
Fixed compensation per passenger for cancelled flights, based on the great-circle distance between departure and destination airports.
When airlines rebook you: watch the details
If the airline offers an alternative flight and you accept it, pay close attention to the arrival time. If the alternative flight gets you to your destination within the time windows described above (2 hours late for 7–14 day notice; 4 hours late for less than 7 days), the airline can argue that no compensation is owed. If the alternative arrives later than these thresholds, full compensation applies.
Also note that the airline cannot force you to accept a rebooking. If the only alternative involves a 12-hour layover through a different hub when you could book a direct flight with a competitor for a reasonable fare, you are within your rights to choose a refund instead and make your own arrangements.
Cancellation vs schedule change
Airlines sometimes try to avoid cancellation obligations by framing a cancelled flight as a "schedule change." The legal distinction matters. A genuine schedule change is a modification to the published timetable (see delay vs cancellation for more on this) that happens well in advance and affects all passengers on the route. A cancellation is the removal of a specific flight that was scheduled and sold. If you were booked on a specific flight and it no longer exists, that is a cancellation for EC261 purposes, regardless of what the airline calls it.