My flight got canceled. Here's how I got nearly $700 back.

• Passenger protection laws are stronger in Europe and the United Kingdom than in the United States.
• Travelers may be entitled to cash compensation for significant delays or cancellations on international flights, depending on the airline and itinerary.
• In the United States, passengers are generally entitled to a refund for a canceled flight if they choose not to travel, but not additional compensation.

Cruising Altitude is a weekly column about air travel. Have a suggestion for a future topic? Fill out the form or email me at the address at the bottom of this page.

A canceled flight hurts, but it doesn’t sting as much when you get paid almost $700 for the inconvenience.

That’s the situation I found myself in earlier this summer when I was flying to England to visit some family and go hiking.

I had booked myself on an 8 a.m. departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London, but when I woke up to catch the bus, I saw an email that my flight had been canceled and I was rebooked to travel at 6 p.m.

I was annoyed. I had intentionally chosen the morning flight because it’s so much better than flying transatlantic overnight, but ultimately I didn’t have a choice.

Then I remembered that Europe and the United Kingdom have stronger passenger protections than the United States does.

"In general in the U.S., you have absolutely no rights whatsoever to compensation, with maybe the exception of overbooking," Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at AirHelp, a site that helps passengers get compensation they’re entitled to, told me. "In Europe, when a flight is delayed by three hours or more and the cause of that delay is directly attributable to the airline, not something outside of their control like really bad weather or air traffic control issues, when it’s something that’s their fault, the airline is obliged to pay you up to 600 euros."

Because my new flight was arriving in London almost 12 hours after my originally scheduled itinerary, I was fairly certain that I’d be entitled to something.

After Brexit, the United Kingdom adopted its own version of the European Union rules it previously operated under. Because I was flying on a British airline, I immediately applied for compensation and was wired the money a few days later. It nearly covered the full cost of my ticket, and it was so easy to apply for.

I just had to fill out a form on the airline’s website with my flight and bank information, and upload proof of purchase for my original itinerary. One thing to keep in mind, though: The airline didn’t notify me directly that I was eligible for compensation, so it was on me to find the form and fill it out myself.

As summer travel picks up, it’s important to know your rights if something goes wrong, no matter where you’re flying or which airline you’re taking.

When are you entitled to compensation?

It’s complicated, but U.S. travelers are more likely to be entitled to compensation for disruptions on international itineraries.

"If you are an American and you are flying on a U.S. airline, you are almost guaranteed to be treated better on foreign soil than you are on American soil," William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told me. "The United States lags much of the world when it comes to passenger protections, and certainly lags the European Union."

The EU, for example, requires airlines to pay compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed by more than three hours, or if a cancellation results in an arrival delay of more than three hours from the original booking.

The exact compensation amount is also based partly on distance.

Other countries with similar protections include the United Kingdom, Canada and some Asian and Middle Eastern destinations.

Websites like AirHelp can assist you in learning what you’re entitled to based on your itinerary, and in claiming the compensation you’re owed.

It can get especially confusing traveling to or from the United States, because regulations vary based on the airline you’re flying, as well as your departure and arrival airports. In general, U.S. airlines flying to Europe, for example, are covered under U.S. law for outbound flights, meaning passengers are only entitled to disruption compensation on flights returning from Europe to the United States.

European airlines on those same routes are covered by EU law in both directions, meaning passengers would be entitled to compensation for disruptions in either direction.

What are you entitled to for delayed or canceled flights in the US?

The United States does not have the same kind of passenger protections, and travelers generally aren’t entitled to cash compensation for delays or cancellations. However, there are some entitlements for canceled or significantly delayed flights.

If your flight is canceled or your arrival is delayed by three hours or more for domestic itineraries, or six hours or more for international itineraries, you could get a refund if you choose not to travel on alternative flights offered by the airline, even if you booked a nonrefundable ticket.

However, you would generally not be entitled to additional compensation.

"Compensation is something above getting your money back when you’re flying," Napoli said.

According to McGee, U.S. regulations largely let airlines dictate their own compensation policies.

"Here in the United States, we largely allow airlines to self-police. They do so on these issues of consumer protections through the contracts of carriage," he said.

The Department of Transportation outlines the basic policies in major carriers’ contracts.

"My bottom line consumer advice is: looking at the contract of carriage and hope for the best," McGee said.

Are there any advantages to flying US airlines for international trips?

While U.S. airlines generally offer less robust protections for disruptions, they are often more flexible with rebooking policies than their international partners.

Although I received $700 in compensation from a British airline for a flight disruption, the same airline later charged me $250 to rebook a different flight after the fare had dropped a few days after I purchased my ticket for a trip I'm taking this winter.

Most U.S. airlines waived change and cancellation fees during the pandemic and now let passengers cancel tickets and rebook them when prices drop, applying the fare difference as a credit toward future flights.

Similar policies are not in place at most foreign carriers, so it’s hard to say with certainty which is the better option for summer travel.

"A lot of things can happen in the summer that can make travel difficult," Napoli said, and given the current airline regulations and policies, it’s hard to protect yourself against every eventuality at once.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at [email protected].