What a flight!

Schedule change

The airline changed your flight time

Airlines call it a schedule change. The regulation often calls it a cancellation — and that distinction decides whether you get anything.

When a change becomes a cancellation

If the airline moves you to a flight with a different number, a different route, or a significantly different time, the original flight has been cancelled in all but name. Courts have treated substantial time shifts — typically a departure brought forward by more than an hour, or an arrival pushed back by hours — as cancellations.

Notice periods decide compensation

  • 14 days or more before departure: no compensation.
  • 7 to 13 days: compensation unless you were rerouted close to the original times.
  • Less than 7 days: compensation unless the replacement is very close to the original.

Beyond that, you always get the choice between a full refund and a replacement flight, whatever the notice.

Flights brought forward are the trap

A flight moved earlier is treated seriously because passengers miss it. If the airline pulled your departure forward by more than an hour and you could not make it, treat it as a cancellation and claim on that basis.

Quick answer

Airlines call it a schedule change. The regulation often calls it a cancellation — and that distinction decides whether you get anything.

Main rule
EU261 (EC 261/2004)
Potential compensation
€250–€600 per passenger
Delay threshold
Usually 3+ hours at final destination
Coverage
EU/EEA departures and qualifying arrivals

Common questions

They changed my flight three weeks out. Compensation?
No, because there was more than 14 days' notice. You can still take a full refund instead of the new flight if it does not suit you.
The new flight is 5 hours later, two days before departure. What then?
That is effectively a cancellation at short notice, and compensation is likely due at the usual bands.
Can I insist on a refund rather than the new time?
Yes, if the change is significant. A refund is your right, and the airline cannot force a voucher on you.

Primary sources

Official guidance and legislation used to review this page.