ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261
Does the airline have to pay for a hotel if my flight is delayed overnight?
Yes, where an overnight stay becomes necessary. Art. 9 requires the operating carrier to provide accommodation and transfers between the airport and the hotel, free of charge, alongside meals and refreshments. McDonagh confirmed in 2013 that the duty applies even when the cause is an extraordinary circumstance and carries no temporal or monetary limit.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
What Art. 9 covers
| RIGHT | WHEN IT STARTS |
|---|---|
| Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait | From the Art. 6 threshold: two, three or four hours by distance |
| Two telephone calls, telex, fax or email messages | Same thresholds |
| Hotel accommodation | Where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary |
| Transport between the airport and the accommodation | With the accommodation |
If the airline does not arrange it
Passengers routinely book their own room and claim it back. McDonagh holds that amounts which prove necessary, appropriate and reasonable can be recovered, with the assessment left to the national court, so a room at the going rate near the airport is the reference point rather than a suite in town.
Care and compensation are separate
Accepting a hotel does not settle a compensation claim, and a proven extraordinary circumstance that defeats compensation leaves the hotel duty standing. Sousa Rodríguez adds the reverse limit: Art. 12 further compensation cannot be used to recover care costs the airline should have paid under Articles 8 and 9.
THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER
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
- Case C-83/10 Sousa Rodríguez v Air France, judgment of 13 October 2011 (ECLI:EU:C:2011:664) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
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