---
title: "What is Flight compensation? | Benefit Systems"
description: "Flight compensation is a flat statutory payment owed by the airline for cancellation, long delay or denied boarding, scaled by flight distance."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Flight compensation?

Flight compensation is a flat statutory payment owed by the airline for cancellation, long delay or denied boarding, scaled by flight distance.

Also called: Statutory compensation.

## How it works #

The claim does not depend on the fare paid or on any loss suffered; what counts is distance and the delay on arrival at the final destination. It falls away in extraordinary circumstances, which the airline has to prove. Care during the wait and a refund exist independently and are not deducted from it.

## Not to be confused with #

Flight compensation is not the same as a refund: a refund returns the ticket price, compensation is an additional amount on top.

## In German #

The German term is Ausgleichszahlung. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/ausgleichszahlung)

## Related terms #

- [EU passenger rights regulation](/en/glossary/eu-passenger-rights-regulation): The EU passenger rights regulation is the European law governing claims for cancellation, long delay and denied boarding, regardless of ticket price.
- [Extraordinary circumstances](/en/glossary/extraordinary-circumstances): Extraordinary circumstances are events outside an airline’s control that remove the entitlement to statutory compensation.
- [Travel voucher](/en/glossary/travel-voucher): A travel voucher is credit with the airline offered instead of a repayment, redeemable only against that airline’s own services.

## Articles that use this term #

- [How much are you owed for a delayed flight?](/en/knowledge/us-delay-compensation)
- [What do US airlines owe you when your flight is cancelled?](/en/knowledge/us-cancellation-rights)
- [Do you have to accept a voucher instead of cash?](/en/knowledge/voucher-vs-cash)