ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261

My flight was cancelled and I was rebooked for the next day. What are the rules?

Two rules apply at once. Art. 9 requires the airline to provide accommodation and transfers free of charge where an overnight stay becomes necessary, whatever the cause. Art. 7 compensation of €250, €400 or €600 is separately due unless the cancellation was notified at least 14 days ahead, the re-routing landed inside the Art. 5(1)(c) windows, or the cause was extraordinary.

REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026

The overnight duty

Art. 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c) cover hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the accommodation. McDonagh confirmed that the duty has no temporal or monetary limit and continues for the whole period passengers must await re-routing, extraordinary circumstances included.

Whether the next day rebooking removes compensation

Only inside the Art. 5(1)(c) windows, and a next day departure is outside all of them. The tightest window allows a replacement arriving less than two hours late; the widest allows less than four hours. An overnight gap clears both.

So the compensation question falls back to notice and cause: was the cancellation announced 14 days ahead, and can the carrier prove an extraordinary circumstance under Art. 5(3)?

If you booked your own room

Keep the receipt. McDonagh treats amounts that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable as recoverable, with the assessment for the national court. A room near the airport at the going rate is the reference point.

THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER

McDonagh, C-12/112013

SOURCES

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 9 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
Case C-12/11 McDonagh v Ryanair, judgment of 31 January 2013 (ECLI:EU:C:2013:43) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 5(1)(c) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026