Flight Delayed or Cancelled? What You're Owed

Flight [number] · [date] · Lisbon → Boston · delayed

Likely regime: EU261 (departure from an EU airport) ·

Cash compensation likely? Yes — because the arrival delay exceeds the 3-hour threshold on a long-haul route, and "operational reasons" is not by itself an extraordinary circumstance; the airline must show the delay was caused by something outside its control.

You may be owed

• Cash compensation: ~€600 band (long-haul, over 3,500 km, delay over 4 hours) — verify current sum
• Plus: duty-of-care for the wait (meals, refreshments; accommodation if overnight) · no refund due since you flew, but reimbursement of reasonable expenses during the delay

Claim letter

To: [Airline] Customer Relations
Re: Compensation claim under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 — booking ABC123

I was a passenger on flight [number] from Lisbon (LIS) to Boston (BOS) on [date], scheduled to depart at 11:20 and arrive at [scheduled arrival]. The flight departed at 16:05 and arrived at [actual arrival], a delay of 5 hours 10 minutes at the final destination.
Under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, a delay of more than three hours at the final destination on a flight of this distance entitles me to compensation of €600, unless the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures. The reason given at the time was "operational reasons," which does not meet that test.
I request payment of €600 to [bank details or preferred method] within 14 days, together with reimbursement of €[amount] in meal expenses incurred during the delay (receipts attached). Evidence attached: boarding pass, booking confirmation, and the delay notification.
[Name, address, email, date]

Attach: boarding pass · booking confirmation · proof of delay (airline notification, app screenshot, or airport display photo) · the reason the airline gave, in writing if you have it · receipts for expenses

If refused: reply once asking for the specific extraordinary circumstance and evidence → airline complaints department → the national enforcement body for Portugal or an approved ADR scheme → small claims or a no-win-no-fee claims service (they take a cut)

Verify against current rules: exact distance band thresholds, the current compensation sums, and whether the airline's stated reason counts as "extraordinary" under recent rulings.