EU 261/2004 regulation explained

When planning any type of trip family holiday the most unfortunate start to this trip is a delayed flight which can cause the loss of the first day. It also causes knock-on effects concerning transit arrangements. European Commission Regulation 261/2004 is a regulation establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of flight cancellations, or long delays of flights and went into effect on 17 February 2005 replacing EEC No 295/91. The compensation amount is not dependent on your ticket price but of the distance, you have travelled to the destination of your flight. Which means you are covered when your flight departs from an airport in an EU country, you are also covered when your flight's destination is an EU country where that flight is operated by an EU based airline. For example, if you’re travelling on a flight from Dublin International airport to New York return, you would be covered for both the outbound and inbound flight. It's not just EU countries that have this right of care to their passengers, other countries have also similar rules and regulations to their passenger, the most recent changes to passenger rights came into effect in Canada.