An airline cancelling your flight the day before you're due to travel can feel like being cut loose entirely — left to buy a last-minute ticket on another carrier at triple the price. Under EU law, that's not how it's supposed to work, and the protections are stronger and more specific than most passengers realise.
The 14-day notice rule
If your flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice before the scheduled departure, you're entitled to a choice: a full refund within 7 days, or rerouting to your destination under comparable conditions. If the cancellation was within the airline's control, you're also entitled to cash compensation of up to €600, calculated using the same distance tiers as delay compensation.
Duty of care: uncapped, and not tied to fault
If you choose rerouting and the next available flight isn't until the following day, the airline has an absolute legal obligation — regardless of whether the cancellation was their fault or a genuine extraordinary circumstance like a hurricane — to cover a hotel, transport to and from the airport, and meals for the duration of the wait. This obligation exists independently of whether you're entitled to the separate cash compensation. If the airline fails to arrange this, you can pay for reasonable alternatives yourself and claim back every documented receipt.
Vouchers versus cash
Airlines will often default to offering travel vouchers instead of cash refunds. You are not obligated to accept a voucher — if you want the refund in the original payment method, say so explicitly and in writing.
What to do at the counter if a hotel isn't offered
If ground staff don't immediately assign accommodation, book a reasonably priced option near the airport yourself and keep the itemised invoice — reasonable here means proportionate to the situation, not the cheapest possible option, but also not a luxury upgrade you couldn't otherwise justify.
Rerouting via a competing airline
If the cancelling airline can't offer you an alternative flight within a reasonable timeframe, and seats are available on a competitor's flight the same day, the airline is obligated to purchase that ticket for you rather than leave you to arrange and pay for it yourself.
Documenting the cancellation itself
Keep the cancellation notification (app notification, email, or SMS), and if possible get written or app-based confirmation of the reason given — this becomes important if the airline later tries to claim extraordinary circumstances that don't actually hold up.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — cancellation, rerouting, refund, and duty-of-care provisions
- European Commission — Air passenger rights