Few things are more frustrating than being stranded at the airport because your flight has been delayed overnight. While passengers often think only about EU flight compensation, EU Regulation 261/2004 (EU261) and UK261 also grant you important care rights. These include hotel accommodation, meals, and transport — and they apply regardless of whether the airline owes you money compensation or not.
Check your compensation online.
Right to Care During Overnight Delays
If your flight is delayed overnight, Wizz Air must provide you with a free hotel stay and transport between the airport and the hotel. You are also entitled to at least one free meal and drinks, in proportion to the length of your wait.
If these aren’t offered, contact Wizz Air directly and request them.
You are entitled to:
- Hotel accommodation for as long as you need to wait.
- Transport between the airport and the hotel, at no extra cost.
- Meals and refreshments during your waiting time.
- Two free communications — usually phone calls or emails — so you can update your family or work.
These rights apply to all overnight delays, no matter the cause — whether it’s extraordinary circumstances like bad weather, technical issues, or strikes.
Read more: Right to Care
Compensation vs. Care Rights
It’s important to understand the difference between EU flight compensation and care rights:
Care rights (hotel, meals, transfers) are always owed, no matter why the delay happened.
Compensation (up to €600 per passenger) is only owed if the disruption was caused by something under the airline’s control, such as technical problems or staff shortages.
This means even if the airline doesn’t have to pay you compensation (e.g., because of severe weather), it must still look after you during the delay.
When You’re Entitled to Both Compensation and Care?
In many cases, you’re entitled to both care and compensation. This happens when the airline is at fault for the disruption.
For example:
- A technical problem discovered during routine maintenance.
- A crew shortage that prevents the flight from departing.
- A strike by the airline’s own staff (pilots, cabin crew, or ground crew).
- An operational failure, like poor scheduling or aircraft rotation issues.
In all these cases, the airline must both take care of you (hotel, meals, transport) and pay compensation for the delay or cancellation.
Passengers may be entitled to overnight flight delay compensation under EU261/UK261, depending on the cause of the disruption.
When Are You Entitled Only to Care?
Sometimes you won’t qualify for EU flight compensation, but you will still have the right to care.
This happens when the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline’s control — such as severe weather, air traffic control strikes, airport staff strikes, or security risks. In these cases, Wizz Air doesn’t owe you financial compensation, but it must still provide free meals, drinks, hotel accommodation if needed, and transport between the airport and the hotel.
Check your compensation online.
What If the Airline Doesn’t Offer Care?
Sometimes airlines fail to provide hotel rooms or meal vouchers.
In that case:
- Arrange your own accommodation, food, or transport.
- Keep all receipts — you’re entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses.
- File a claim with the airline afterwards to recover your costs.
“Reasonable” typically means essentials like a mid-range hotel, standard meals, and local transport — not luxury hotels or expensive extras.
How to Claim Overnight Delay Compensation and Care?
If your flight is delayed overnight, compensation may be available under EU261/UK261, along with hotel, meals, and care rights.
Claiming your rights for an overnight delay is a straightforward process, but it’s important to follow the right steps:
- Ask at the airline desk. As soon as the delay is announced, go to the Wizz Air information desk or check-in counter. Ask specifically for hotel accommodation, transport, and meal vouchers. By law, these should be provided free of charge.
- Book your own if necessary. If Wizz Air doesn’t provide anything, you don’t have to sleep at the airport. Book a reasonably priced hotel and buy meals yourself. Make sure to keep all receipts, as you can claim reimbursement later.
- Submit a reimbursement claim. After your trip, file a claim with Wizz Air for the costs of your hotel, transport, and meals. Airlines are obliged to refund these “care expenses” if they failed to provide them at the time of the disruption.
- Check if you’re also due EU flight compensation. Care rights apply no matter what caused the delay. But if the overnight disruption was due to reasons under Wizz Air’s control — such as technical problems, crew shortages, or airline staff strikes — you may also be entitled to up to €600 per passenger in cash compensation under EU261/UK261. Submit this as a separate claim alongside your reimbursement request. You do not have to accept Wizz Air vouchers — ask for monetary compensation!
Airlines are legally required to provide accommodation, meals, and transport, no matter the reason for the delay. On top of that, if the disruption was within the airline’s control, you may also be entitled to EU flight compensation.
Featured photo by Bingqian Li from Pexels