ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261
Does the airline have to tell me about my rights?
Yes, in writing. Art. 14 requires a notice at check in telling passengers to ask for the text of their rights, and it requires the airline to hand every passenger it denies boarding or whose flight it cancels a written notice of the compensation and assistance rules, with the contact details of the national enforcement body. A delay of two hours or more triggers the same written notice.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
The three duties in Art. 14
- A clearly visible notice at check in: if you are denied boarding, cancelled, or delayed at least two hours, ask for the text stating your rights.
- A written notice of the compensation and assistance rules for every passenger denied boarding or cancelled, and an equivalent notice from two hours of delay.
- The contact details of the Art. 16 national enforcement body, in writing, and appropriate alternative means for blind and visually impaired passengers.
What to do with a missing notice
The duty is the airline's, so its silence costs you nothing on the underlying claim: the compensation and care rules apply whether or not you were told about them. A complaint to the enforcement body can record the failure; the body exists to police exactly these obligations.
SOURCES
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 14 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 16 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
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