Wizz Air: UK261 vs EU261, which rules apply

Why Brexit split the rules in two

Before 2021, one regulation covered the whole of the EU, the EEA and the UK. When the UK left the EU, it kept the text of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 as domestic law, now usually called UK261. The passenger rights are almost identical, but two things changed: the currency (pounds instead of euros) and the regulator (the UK CAA instead of an EU member state's NEB).

The dividing line is the departure point. UK261 applies to:

• any flight departing from a UK airport, on any airline; and
• flights arriving in the UK on a UK or EU/EEA carrier from a non-UK airport.

EU261 applies to:

• any flight departing from an EU/EEA airport, on any airline; and
• flights arriving in the EU/EEA on an EU/EEA carrier from a non-EU airport.

Wizz Air operates heavily on routes between the UK and Central and Eastern Europe, so this split touches almost every diaspora traveller. It is worth knowing which regime governs each leg before you complain, because you claim from a different body and in a different currency depending on where the wheels left the ground.

The amounts, side by side

Both regimes use the same distance bands, only the numbers and the currency differ.

These are fixed sums per passenger, not a refund of your fare. You get them when your arrival at the final destination is three or more hours late (Folkerts, C-11/11; a long delay is treated like a cancellation for compensation once you cross the three-hour mark, Sturgeon, C-402/07), when a flight is cancelled at short notice, or when you are involuntarily denied boarding.

One caveat that applies under both regimes: under Article 7(2), the airline may pay only half the sum if it re-routes you and you still arrive within a set time window — for example EUR 600 reduced to EUR 300. That EUR 300 is only ever this 50% reduction; it is not a standalone amount, and neither is EUR 500. You can estimate your own figure with the flight compensation calculator.

Worked diaspora examples

Luton to Bucharest (outbound). You fly Wizz Air from London Luton and land in Bucharest more than three hours late. The flight departed from a UK airport, so UK261 applies. The distance is roughly 1,900 km, putting you in the middle band: GBP 350. If Wizz refuses, your enforcement body is the UK CAA.

Bucharest to Luton (the return). The same trip home departs from Romania — an EU member state — so the return leg is under EU261. The same distance now pays EUR 400, and if there is a dispute your enforcement body is the Romanian NEB (the Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority), not the UK CAA. One booking, two regimes, two currencies, two regulators.

Gatwick to Katowice, cancelled the night before. UK departure, so UK261 and the CAA. Around 1,500 km sits at the boundary of the first band; treat a flight of this length carefully, but a cancellation at short notice with no acceptable alternative points to compensation plus your Article 8 rights.

Budapest to Doncaster, delayed by a crew shortage. EU departure, so EU261 and the Hungarian NEB. A strike or staffing problem involving the airline's own crew is not an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation is still due (Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20).

The rules that do not change with the border

Whichever regime applies, four separate rights sit alongside each other and should never be blurred together:

1. Compensation — the fixed Article 7 sum in the table above.
2. Refund or re-routing (Article 8) — if your flight is cancelled or you are heavily delayed, you can choose a refund of the unused ticket or an alternative flight. A refund must be paid in money, to your original payment method, within seven days, unless you actively agree to a voucher. This matters especially with Wizz: a WIZZ credit (often offered at 120%) is not a substitute for a cash refund and can never be forced on you. See refund vs WIZZ credit for how to insist on cash.
3. Care (Article 9) — meals and refreshments, and a hotel and transfers when an overnight is needed, kicking in at the two, three or four-hour marks depending on distance. Care is owed even when the delay is caused by weather or another extraordinary circumstance (McDonagh, C-12/11).
4. Damages — reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket costs the delay actually caused you.

Two more points hold under both regimes. Extraordinary circumstances (Article 5(3)) remove compensation but not care, and the airline must prove them. A routine technical fault does not count (Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07; van der Lans, C-257/14); genuine severe weather and independent air-traffic-control restrictions usually do. And the operating carrier is the one that owes you (Wirth, C-532/17): Wizz Air flies through separate entities — Wizz Air Hungary, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air UK and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi — so check which one operated your flight before you write.

For background, the UK CAA took enforcement action in 2023, with Wizz Air giving undertakings to improve how it pays refunds and EU261 claims and to clear its backlog. Being auto-rebooked onto an inconvenient flight does not cancel your right to a refund or compensation. More detail sits in the delayed flight and cancelled flight guides, and the Wizz Air compensation hub pulls the whole picture together.

Baggage is a completely separate regime and never uses these figures. Lost, damaged or delayed bags fall under the Montreal Convention 1999, with liability capped at roughly 1,519 SDR per passenger (the ceiling in force since 28 December 2024, about EUR 1,850 / GBP 1,600 and moving with exchange rates). File a Property Irregularity Report at the airport, then write to the airline within seven days for damage or 21 days for delay.

FAQ

My flight number was the same both ways — why two different regimes?

Because EU261 and UK261 both attach to the departure airport. An outbound leg from the UK is UK261; the return from an EU airport is EU261. The shared flight number and single booking do not change that.

Should I claim in pounds or euros?

In the currency of the regime that governs the delayed or cancelled leg. A UK-departure leg pays in pounds under UK261; an EU-departure leg pays in euros under EU261. You do not get to choose the more favourable one.

Who do I escalate to if Wizz refuses?

For a UK-departure leg, the UK CAA. For an EU-departure leg, the national enforcement body of the country you left — for example the Romanian NEB for a Bucharest departure. Escalate to the regulator that matches the disputed leg, not whichever one seems more convenient.

Does the 2026 EU261 reform change the amounts or thresholds?

No. The proposed longer delay thresholds, a nine-month claim window and a 30-day airline response deadline are a proposal, not yet law. Until it is adopted, the three-hour trigger and the amounts above still apply.

How long do I have to take Wizz to court?

There is no single universal deadline — it depends on jurisdiction. It is roughly six years in England and Wales and in Ireland, five years in Scotland, and different periods across EU states. Check the rule where you would actually sue.

Sources

• Regulation (EC) 261/2004, full text (EUR-Lex): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32004R0261
• UK Civil Aviation Authority — delays and cancellations: https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/delays-cancellations/
• European Commission — air passenger rights: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/passenger-rights/air_en
• Montreal Convention 1999 (ICAO): https://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf

Position stated as at 2026; the 2026 EU261 reform is a proposal and not yet in force, and this is general information, not legal advice.