Traveling is one of the best things that you can do for your physical and mental health. The benefit of traveling is the movement since you will constantly be on the go. You are able to get moving. Cheers, there are places to see and things to do.

Sure, there are some stressful moments when you get out on the road. If you are an avid traveler and hate worrying moments such as flight delays, it is always helpful to know your rights when airlines screw up. Rather than yelling at the gates, might be helpful to relieve your stress, better to know some general tips stem from the European Union (EU) passenger’s consumer protection law. Travelers in Europe are assured by law that airlines must do right by their customers.

When a flight is significantly delayed (more than two hours late), airlines have to provide you the following if you booked a flight with a European airline or a flight that departed from Europe Union (EU), the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

Your airline has to give you:

Food, refreshments, and water
Access to telecommunication services (phone calls and e-mails)
Accommodation (assuming you’re delayed overnight) - and travel expenses between the airport and the hotel (expenses should be necessary, reasonable and appropriate)

The airline should provide vouchers to get these things at the airport. You have to ask from the airline personnel to get if you’re not offered any help.

When a flight is significantly delayed (more than two hours late), airlines have to provide you the following if you booked a flight with a European airline or a flight that departed from Europe Union (EU), the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

If you don’t receive any help at the airport, keep receipts for expenses and try to claim from the airline later. Airlines only pay for ‘reasonable, necessary and appropriate’ expenses - you won’t get a refund back for expensive meals, alcoholic beverages or luxury hotels.

You already have a legal right to food and drink, phone calls, and accommodation when the flight is delayed for 2 hours or more.

You’re also entitled to get compensation if the delay is the airline’s responsibility - for example if they didn’t get enough bookings or there was a technical fault. In terms of compensation, the delay is the time interval between the scheduled time of arrival and the actual time of arrival to final destination. The relevant time of arrival corresponds to the time at which the first door of the aircraft was opened to enable the passengers to leave.

Most of the airlines do not offer the compensation you deserve, that does not mean you cannot get it. You need to ask for and claim what you deserve.

The compensation is not payable in the case of an extraordinary circumstance. You won’t get compensation if it was delayed because of extraordinary circumstances such as bad weather, terrorism, sabotage, airport radar malfunction or a strike.

You’re entitled to a set amount of compensation depending on the distance of the flight. Check how much you are entitled?

You have the option of cancelling your flight entirely, for a refund if it’s delayed for 5 hours or more. It doesn’t matter whose responsibility the delay is. Talk to someone from the airline as soon as you decide you don’t want to take the flight.

If you don’t take the flight:

The airline legally is required to provide you all of the following:

a full refund of your flight
a full refund for other flights from the airline that you won’t use in the same booking such as the return ticket
if you’re part-way through a journey, a flight back to the airport you originally departed from
food and drink
access to telecommunication
accommodation if you’re delayed overnight, as well as journeys between the airport and the hotel

If you do take the flight:

You can claim up to €600 in compensation if the delay is the airline’s responsibility - depending on the distance and destination of your flight. It might have been your airline's fault if there was a technical flight, or they overbooked.

You won’t get compensation if it was delayed because of something like bad weather or a strike. Airlines often cite “technical difficulties” or “operational circumstances” as reasons for delays. The good news is that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has repeatedly stated that those don’t qualify as “extraordinary circumstances,” which means they are not sufficient to relieve the airline of its obligations under EC 261.

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