ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261
Which airport counts as my final destination?
The one on the ticket you checked in with. Art. 2(h) defines final destination as the destination on the ticket presented at check in or, for directly connecting flights, the destination of the last flight; alternative onward connections are ignored where the original planned arrival time is respected. Folkerts made it the measuring point for both the 3 hour test and the distance bands in 2013.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
One booking is one journey
On a single reservation, the legs merge: delay is measured where the journey ends, and Art. 7(1) measures distance to the last destination the disruption delayed you into reaching. A 40 minute feeder delay that costs a long haul connection is judged at the far end, in the long haul band.
Separate tickets break the chain
Two independent bookings are two journeys with two final destinations, however tight the connection you planned. The regulation measures each ticket on its own.
THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER
SOURCES
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 2(h) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Case C-11/11 Air France v Folkerts, judgment of 26 February 2013 (Grand Chamber, ECLI:EU:C:2013:110) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
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