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THE 60-MINUTE PLAYBOOK · EC261 / UK261

Stranded overnight? The airline pays for the hotel. Here’s how to make that happen.

By Nathan Zarcaro, founder of MyAirAdvocate · 3 min read · Updated August 2026

If a UK or EU flight leaves you stranded overnight, Article 9 of EC261 and UK261 makes the airline pay for your hotel, your meals, and the transport between airport and hotel, whatever the cause. Weather, strike, or their own fault, the duty is the same. If they won’t arrange it, you book it and claim it back, with receipts.

Does this apply to my flight?

EC261 · UK261

COVERED

  • ●Any flight departing the UK or an EU country, on any airline (including US carriers)
  • ●Any flight arriving into the UK or EU on a UK or EU airline
  • ●Connecting itineraries on one booking, where the final destination is late

NOT COVERED

  • ●US domestic flights (Boston to Denver) — different rules, no fixed compensation
  • ●Flights into the EU or UK on a non-European airline (New York to London on Delta or American)
  • ●Anywhere else in the world, unless local law says otherwise

This is EU Regulation 261/2004, called EC261, and its UK copy, UK261. It is the reason a cancelled Paris flight pays €600 and a cancelled Phoenix flight pays nothing.

THE DUTY

Does the airline have to pay for a hotel if my flight is cancelled?

Yes, and this is the one part of EC261 that doesn’t care why. Compensation can be argued away with extraordinary circumstances; care under Article 9 can’t. A volcanic ash cloud, a strike by air traffic controllers, a blizzard: the airline still owes you a room, meals, and the transport to get there, for as long as you’re waiting for the new flight.

The court made this explicit in 2013 (McDonagh v Ryanair), in a case about the 2010 ash cloud, when Ryanair argued that a week of hotel bills was too much to ask. It wasn’t. There’s no cap.

TONIGHT

How do I get the airline to pay for my hotel?

1

Ask the desk for a hotel voucher first

Some airlines have rooms blocked at airport hotels and will hand you a voucher and a shuttle time. Take it; it’s the easy version.

2

If the desk is closed or refuses, book it yourself

A normal airport hotel, a normal room. Keep the booking confirmation and the receipt. You’ll be claiming the cost back, and "reasonable" is the test the airline will apply, so don’t give them a reason.

3

Eat, and keep the receipt

Dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow are the airline’s. So is the taxi if the shuttle isn’t running.

4

Photograph every receipt before you sleep

Paper receipts fade and get lost in coat pockets. The photo is what you’ll attach to the claim.

WORTH KNOWING

Two claims, sent together

The reimbursement claim (your receipts, under Article 9) and the compensation claim (the fixed €250–€600, under Article 7) are separate rights. The first is owed whatever caused the disruption; the second depends on it. Send both in one letter, itemise the receipts, and don’t let a refusal of one be treated as a refusal of the other.

WHAT THEY’LL SAY

What if the airline refuses to reimburse my hotel?

The usual answer is that the disruption was outside their control, which is true of some cancellations and irrelevant to Article 9. Reply once, cite the article, attach the receipts, and say you’ll refer it to the dispute body. Care claims with receipts attached are among the easiest to win, because there’s nothing to argue about except the arithmetic.

See exactly what your flight owes you — free, no signup. The live rights page tells you what applies to your exact flight and prepares the claim when you\u2019re ready.

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COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions people ask

The cancellation was because of a strike. Do they still owe me a hotel?

+

Yes. Article 9 care applies regardless of cause. Only compensation depends on the cause.

How much can I spend on the hotel?

+

A reasonable amount for the airport area. An ordinary airport hotel gets reimbursed; a suite gets questioned.

I slept in the terminal. Can I claim anything?

+

You can claim what you actually spent, meals included. There’s no payment for discomfort, which is one reason to book the hotel.

Does this apply if the delay wasn’t the airline’s fault?

+

Yes. That’s the point of Article 9.

How long do I have to claim the hotel back?

+

The same limitation periods as compensation: six years in England and Wales, two to three across most of the EU.

General information, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate prepares claims for a flat fee and never takes a percentage of what you are owed.