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✓ You only pay if you get compensation✓ Up to €600 per passenger✓ EC Regulation 261/2004
Delta Air LinesDelay · Cancellation · Overbooking

Delta Air Lines compensation: up to €600 per passenger

Delta Air Lines flight delayed, cancelled or overbooked? Check for free in 2 minutes: we handle the claim, all the way to court if needed.

  • Up to €600 per passenger
  • Check in just 2 minutes
  • Nothing upfront: you only pay if you get compensation
  • Legal assistance specialised in air travel
DelayFlight24 applies European Regulation EC 261/2004
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Check your Delta Air Lines flight

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Choose departure and arrival: we will show you right away how much you are owed.
  • Data protected
  • Nothing upfront
  • You only pay if we win
  • Transparent feeOnly 25% + VAT and only if Delta Air Lines pays: out of €400 you receive €278.
  • All the way to courtIf Delta Air Lines does not pay, our lawyers take the airline to court, at no extra cost to you.
  • Claims handled87,774 passengers have already trusted usupdated in real time

In short

  • Delay: if you arrive 3 hours or more late, Delta Air Lines owes €250 to €600 per person, depending on the distance.
  • Cancellation: you are owed compensation if you were told less than 14 days before departure, on top of a ticket refund or an alternative flight.
  • Not owed for extraordinary circumstances (severe weather, air traffic control strikes). Technical faults and strikes by the airline's own staff usually are not extraordinary.
  • With DelayFlight24 you pay nothing upfront: if Delta Air Lines pays, you keep €173.75 out of €250 or €278 out of €400.

Delta Air Lines claims in numbers

Figures from the Delta Air Lines claims we have handled for our customers, updated daily.

160Delta Air Lines passengers have trusted us
64%of claims concern delayed flights
30%concern cancelled flights
6%concern overbooking and denied boarding

Delta Air Lines routes with the most claims

Delta Air Lines routes with the most claims
RoutekmOwed
MiamiNew York1,759400 €Check
LisbonNew York5,409600 €Check
MadridNew York5,766600 €Check
BarcelonaNew York6,156600 €Check
New YorkSan Juan2,580400 €Check
New YorkAtlanta1,223250 €Check
Fort LauderdaleBoston1,996400 €Check
AtlantaNew York1,223250 €Check

Amount per person for arrival delays of at least 3 hours, cancellations with less than 14 days' notice and overbooking, unless there were extraordinary circumstances.

Delta Air Lines compensation: which transatlantic flights are covered

Delta is one of the main ways across the Atlantic from Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona to New York, Atlanta and beyond. We have handled more than 100 Delta claims for over 150 passengers, and around 3 in 10 involve a cancelled flight.

Delta Air Lines is headquartered in Atlanta and is an American carrier, not a European one. Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applies to it when the flight takes off from an airport in the EU, Switzerland, Norway or Iceland. A New York–Lisbon flight operated by Delta, by contrast, is outside the EU rules.

Delayed flight

You leave Europe with Delta and reach the last stop on your ticket, even after a change in the US, three hours or more late.

From 3 hours

Cancelled flight

Your transatlantic departure from the EU is cancelled with less than 14 days' warning.

Notice under 14 days

Overbooking

At a European gate you are left behind on an oversold flight without having volunteered.

Owed at the gate

Not covered

Delta flights departing the United States or other non-EU countries, and events the airline could not have avoided.

Outside EU scope

Enter departure, arrival and date to find out straight away: check your Delta flight.

How much Delta pays: €600 on transatlantic routes

Every Delta route out of Europe is longer than 3,500 km, so the EU amount is the highest one. Whether you flew Main Cabin or Delta One makes no difference.

Distance Delta flights from Europe You get
Up to 1,500 km Delta does not operate flights within Europe €250
1,500 to 3,500 km No Delta routes from the EU in this band €400
Over 3,500 km Lisbon–New York, Madrid–New York, Barcelona–New York €600

Each passenger is owed their own amount: two parents and two children on a Madrid–New York flight that arrived four and a half hours late can claim €2,400. Children with an assigned seat count like adults. On the form, add your travel companions to the same flight.

Delta running late: how to protect your claim

Delays and missed connections make up about 6 in 10 of our Delta cases. Trouble often starts at New York JFK or Atlanta, where passengers miss the domestic flight that follows. What to do:

  1. Use the Fly Delta app to save boarding passes for every leg and any schedule-change alerts.
  2. Screenshot the rebooking screen the app offers automatically, showing the new time.
  3. Ask at the gate for the cause and note the time: "crew timing" or "maintenance" are very different from "weather".
  4. Keep receipts for meals and hotels paid in dollars if you received no vouchers.
  5. Do not trade your claim for SkyMiles or vouchers before checking what you are owed in cash.

Care on departures from Europe

While you wait at a European airport, Delta must provide meals and drinks and, if the flight slips to the next morning, a room and transfers.

Distance Care from
Up to 1,500 km 2 hours
1,500 to 3,500 km 3 hours
Over 3,500 km 4 hours
Delay of 5 hours or more You can give up the flight and get a refund

Missed connection in the United States

Among the routes reported to us most often are domestic hops such as Miami–New York, New York–Atlanta and New York–San Juan. On their own they are not covered; they become relevant when they are the last leg of a single ticket that began in Europe. Then final arrival counts, and the distance is measured from the European airport, almost always over 3,500 km. More on our page about Delta delay compensation.

Does your Delta Air Lines flight qualify?Check in 2 minutes, with no obligation.
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Delta flight cancelled: refund and compensation

When Delta cancels, the app often rebooks you automatically. Accepting the new flight does not cost you your right to compensation, if the conditions are met.

Refund or alternative flight

Due for every cancellation: your fare back, or another flight, even with a partner airline.

Compensation up to €600

Due on top if the flight left the EU and you were told less than 14 days in advance.

Cancellation notice Compensation
14 days or more Not due (refund or new flight still apply)
7-13 days Due, unless the alternative leaves no more than 2 hours earlier and arrives within 4 hours
Under 7 days Due, unless the alternative leaves no more than 1 hour earlier and arrives within 2 hours

Retimed departure. If Delta moves your transatlantic flight by several hours shortly before departure, the EU Court may treat it as a cancellation. See our page on Delta cancelled flight compensation.

Overbooking and denied boarding with Delta

About 6 in 100 of our Delta cases are denied boarding. US airlines often ask for volunteers at the gate in exchange for vouchers: if you agree, the deal you accepted applies. If you are kept off the plane in Lisbon or Madrid against your will, EU compensation is due at once, together with an alternative flight. Nothing is owed if your ESTA or US visa is missing. Read more about Delta overbooking and denied boarding.

Strikes and Delta flights

Delta staff rarely strike, but European departures are hit by walkouts of air traffic controllers and airport ground staff. Those are events outside the airline's control: no compensation, though care and refunds remain. If Delta's own pilots or flight attendants stopped work, compensation would normally be due (Court of Justice of the EU, case C-28/20).

Delta refused compensation? What the case law says

Delta customer care replies often refer to US rules. On flights from Europe, though, the EU Regulation is what counts:

Usually payable
"Maintenance issue"

Maintenance and faults found before take-off are ordinary business risks, apart from hidden manufacturing defects.

Court of Justice of the EU, case C-549/07
Usually payable
"Crew availability"

A missing crew, or one out of duty hours, is an organisational problem for the airline, not an extraordinary circumstance.

It depends
"Weather" in the US

A storm in New York or Atlanta can justify the late arrival of the aircraft in Europe only if Delta proves a direct link to your flight.

Often not payable
"Your flight departed from the US"

Correct: departures from the United States operated by Delta are outside the EU Regulation.

Has Delta already said no? Do not stop at the first email. We assess the refusal and, if the flight left Europe, answer with a formal demand and court action where needed. Check your Delta flight.

Delta flights operated by Air France, KLM or Virgin Atlantic

Delta sells many codeshare flights with SkyTeam partners and with Virgin Atlantic. Under the Regulation, the airline actually flying the plane is what matters:

  • DL flight operated by Air France or KLM: European airlines, so you are also protected on the way back from the US
  • Air France or KLM flight operated by Delta: protected only when departing Europe
  • Flight operated by Virgin Atlantic: a British airline, so UK rules enforced by the CAA may apply; we tell you which
  • Delta Connection flights in the US (Endeavor Air, SkyWest, Republic): count only as legs of a ticket from Europe

Claiming from Delta: on your own or with DelayFlight24

Delta takes complaints through the "Comment/Complaint" form in the Customer Care section of delta.com. The differences:

On your own

Free, but you often get an offer of miles or vouchers instead of money. Against a refusal you can go to the national enforcement body of the departure country or to court.

With DelayFlight24

Two minutes on the form and an online signature; we do the rest, court included, with our own lawyers. You pay only if you are paid: 25% + VAT. Legal costs are ours, even if we lose.

Already have a refusal or a miles offer?

Send us Delta's reply: if the flight was covered, we demand payment in euros with a formal letter.

Documents to have

  • Booking confirmationWith the six-character code and every leg, including US domestic ones.
  • PassportFor each passenger, children included.
  • Fly Delta notificationsScreenshots of delays, cancellations and rebookings, plus receipts.

Time limits for claiming

The Regulation sets no single deadline: the EU Court (case C-139/11) refers to the national rules of the country where you take action. That is why a trip to the US a few years ago may still be claimable: check your flight date.

How long Delta takes to pay

If Delta agrees to pay, the money usually arrives within a few weeks. If it refuses or offers only miles, a formal demand and possibly court action are needed, and it takes a few months. As soon as we are paid, we send your share by bank transfer.

Lost or damaged Delta baggage

Delayed, lost or damaged bags fall under the Montreal Convention. On arrival, before or right after customs, file a PIR at the baggage desk; the written claim must reach Delta within 7 days for damage and within 21 days of delivery for a delay.

Delta contacts and flight status

Head office
Delta Air Lines, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Main hubs
Atlanta, New York JFK and LaGuardia, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Los Angeles
Complaints
"Comment/Complaint" form in the Customer Care section of delta.com
Flight status
Fly Delta app or delta.com
No upfront cost. On a transatlantic €600 you keep €417; on €250 you keep €173.75 and on €400 €278. If it goes to court, we pay the legal costs even if we lose. Check your Delta flight.

What if Delta Air Lines does not pay? We go all the way

Many airlines only pay when they realise we will not give up. If they refuse or do not reply, our lawyers take legal action, and you do not have to do anything.

Claim to the airline

We send the formal claim with all the documents.

Formal notice

If they do not pay, we send a formal notice with legal value.

Our lawyers in court

Our lawyers take the airline to court, all the way to a judgement.

  • If we lose, you pay nothingNo fee and no costs. If we win, the fee is 40% + VAT.
  • Legal costs are on usYou pay nothing for the court case, even if we lose.
  • All the way to a judgementWe do not stop at the formal notice: if needed we go to court.

Delta Air Lines compensation: frequently asked questions

Is Delta Air Lines a European airline?
No, it is based in Atlanta, in the United States. That is why Regulation (EC) 261/2004 only binds it on flights departing from the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, not on flights from the US to Europe.
How much does Delta pay for a delayed Madrid–New York flight?
€600 per passenger, because the route is longer than 3,500 km. You qualify if you arrive three hours or more late and the cause was not an extraordinary circumstance. The same goes for Lisbon–New York and Barcelona–New York.
I missed my connection to Miami in New York. Can I claim?
Yes, if the Miami flight was on the same ticket that started in Europe and you reached your destination at least three hours late. The amount is based on the distance between the European airport and Miami.
Is my Delta New York–Lisbon flight covered?
Not if Delta operated it: departures from the United States by an American airline are outside the Regulation. If the flight was operated by Air France or KLM, both European airlines, you are covered in that direction too.
Delta offered me SkyMiles. Should I accept?
EU compensation must be paid in money unless you agree in writing to something else. Before accepting miles or vouchers, check what you are owed: on a transatlantic flight it can be €600 per person.
The flight was operated by Air France but booked with Delta. Who pays?
The operating airline pays, in this case Air France. As a European carrier, it owes compensation both on departures from the EU and on flights into Europe.
Delta denied me boarding in Barcelona. What am I owed?
If you did not volunteer and your documents were in order, including ESTA or visa, you are owed €600 per person straight away, plus an alternative flight or a refund.
How long does it take to get money from Delta?
If Delta accepts the claim, usually a few weeks. If it refuses or offers only miles, a formal demand and possibly court action are needed, which takes a few months.
What does DelayFlight24 charge for a Delta claim?
Nothing if we do not recover compensation. If we succeed, our fee is 25% + VAT: on €600 you keep €417, on €250 €173.75, on €400 €278. Legal costs are ours even if the case is lost.

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Delta Air Lines flight delayed or cancelled?

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