Art. 9 EU 261 — care duty: meals, hotel, and transport

Article 9 governs the "care duty" — concrete things the carrier must provide during your wait for a substitute flight. Not money upfront, but services (vouchers / hotel booking) or reimbursement of receipts afterward.

Distance thresholds (Art. 6 + Art. 9):

• Delay from 2 hours for flights up to 1500 km;
• Delay from 3 hours for intra-EU above 1500 km or flights 1500-3500 km;
• Delay from 4 hours for flights over 3500 km outside EU.

What you get from the threshold:

1. Meals and refreshments in reasonable proportion to the wait. In practice: meal voucher €10-15 per meal slot (lunch, dinner) at airport catering.
2. Two free phone calls or emails / faxes (Art. 9(2)).
3. If overnight stay needed: hotel + transport to/from (Art. 9(1)(b)/(c)) at the carrier's expense.

McDonagh ruling (ECJ C-12/11, 31 January 2013): during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption (2010) flights were delayed for weeks. Ryanair argued their care duty ended at a reasonable point. The ECJ decided otherwise: the care duty is unlimited in duration and amount, even in extraordinary circumstances, as long as the delay continues. Mrs McDonagh was reimbursed €1,130 for meals + hotel + transport during a 7-day delay.

Practical: how to claim care not provided on the spot? Keep all receipts (meals, hotel, taxi to/from airport, phone top-ups). When claiming under our EU 261 letter, you demand this alongside Art. 7 compensation — separate damage heads.

For PRM / minors: care goes first — Art. 9(3) gives them priority.