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The Court of Justice of the European Union in its ruling of 20 October 2012 established that passengers on delayed flights are entitled to compensation when they are delayed by three hours or more, i.e. when they arrive at their final destination three or more hours later than the time initially scheduled by the air carrier, unless the carrier proves the existence of extraordinary causes, of a serious meteorological nature, which prevent the normal departure of the aircraft for safety reasons, as well as coups d'état or states of emergency. Cases of aircraft breakdown, crew indisposition or delay in the preparation of the aircraft or any other event that is attributable to the company are not considered to be extraordinary.

Therefore, any person who suffers a delay of the aforementioned characteristics is entitled to be compensated for the inconvenience caused on the basis of the compensation laid down in Article 7 of the Regulation, which is as follows:

- EUR 250 for flights up to 1 500 kilometres (a)

- EUR 400 for all intra-Community flights of more than 1 500 kilometres and for all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres (b)

- EUR 600 for all flights not falling under (a) or (b).