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Flight delays and cancellations rarely cause only inconvenience. In many cases, they create immediate financial losses for passengers: hotel stays, meals, airport transport, communication expenses, and sometimes even essential purchases such as clothing or hygiene items.

Most travellers are unaware that aviation passenger protection laws in many regions impose a separate and powerful legal obligation on airlines — known as the Duty of Care.

Unlike fixed compensation schemes, Duty of Care rules require airlines to provide real-time assistance and reimburse out-of-pocket passenger expenses, even in situations where the airline is not responsible for the disruption itself.

Understanding how this legal obligation works is crucial, because airlines frequently minimise, delay, or deny these reimbursements using technical arguments and procedural barriers.

Compensation for flight delays, cancellations and missed connections is regulated by various international legal frameworks, but fixed passenger compensation is most commonly governed by three key regulations — EC261 in the European Union, UK261 in the United Kingdom and SHY-PASSENGER in Turkey.

In this expert MySkyHelp overview, we explain when each regulation applies, including territorial jurisdiction, operating carrier liability and the rules for single and separate tickets, helping passengers accurately determine when they are legally entitled to compensation.

Introduction: Why “Non-EU Flight” Does Not Mean “No Passenger Rights”

One of the most persistent myths in air passenger rights is the idea that if a flight is “non-EU,” compensation is impossible. Airlines actively encourage this misconception because it dramatically reduces the number of claims they must handle — and pay.

In reality, the concept of a “non-EU flight” has no standalone legal meaning. Passenger rights do not depend on marketing labels, ticket branding, or even the airline’s nationality alone. They depend on jurisdiction, departure point, arrival point, applicable regulations, and international treaties.

Every year, millions of passengers abandon valid claims simply because:

On December 10, 2025, an international journey turned into a scene from a movie when a stowaway rat was discovered aboard a KLM Airbus A330 traveling from Amsterdam to the Caribbean. The rodent was first spotted midway across the Atlantic, with footage later surfacing showing the animal slipping from a baggage compartment and scurrying behind a curtain.

While the pilot made the tactical decision to continue the journey to Aruba Queen Beatrix International Airport, the discovery triggered a massive logistical nightmare. Upon landing, the aircraft was immediately grounded for safety inspections and pest control. This led to the cancellation of flight KL767, leaving more than 250 passengers stranded across Aruba and Bonaire.