Frequently asked questions about flight compensation

Eligibility depends on factors including the journey, the airline that operated the flight, the delay at the final destination, how far in advance you were informed of a cancellation and the cause of the disruption.

The easiest way to check is to enter your travel details in our eligibility form .

Depending on the flight distance and the applicable conditions, standard compensation may generally amount to €250, €400 or €600 per passenger.

This amount is separate from any reimbursement of the ticket price or certain expenses incurred during the wait.

No. No payment is required to submit your case or begin the assessment.

Fly Claim only charges a commission when compensation is successfully recovered. You can view the conditions on our fees page .

Yes. You can begin with the information available to you, such as the travel date, route, airline and flight number.

A booking confirmation, boarding pass or message from the airline may later be requested if it is needed to complete your case.

For standard compensation following a delay, arrival at the final destination must generally have occurred at least 3 hours late.

The delay shown at departure is therefore not always enough. The actual arrival time is the main factor taken into account.

European rules notably cover flights departing from a country in the European Union, regardless of the airline’s nationality.

Certain flights arriving in the European Union are also covered when they are operated by a European airline. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are also included in the applicable system.

Yes. In some cases, a claim may be submitted several years after the journey.

The exact time limit varies depending on the country and the legal rules applicable to the case. It is therefore advisable not to wait before checking your situation.

Yes. A child with a booking and ticket can generally benefit from the same rights as an adult passenger.

The claim must be submitted by the child’s legal representative when the passenger is a minor.

Standard compensation is generally linked to the passenger who experienced the disruption, even when the ticket was purchased by a company or another person.

Reimbursement of the ticket price or expenses may, however, depend on the person or organisation that actually paid them.

The amount mainly depends on the flight distance. The reference amounts are €250, €400 or €600 per passenger when all applicable conditions are met.

For certain long-haul flights, the amount may be reduced when rerouting allows the passenger to arrive with a limited delay.

Yes. Compensation covers the inconvenience suffered by the passenger, while reimbursement concerns the cost of transport that was not used.

Depending on the situation, a passenger may be entitled to reimbursement, rerouting and possibly standard compensation.

When the waiting time becomes significant, the airline may have to provide meals, refreshments, communications and, when necessary, accommodation with transport.

This right to assistance may exist even when extraordinary circumstances prevent the payment of standard compensation.

Yes. The amount is normally calculated for each eligible passenger included in the booking.

A family of four passengers could therefore receive four separate compensation payments if all applicable conditions are met.

Compensation may notably be due when the passenger was informed of the cancellation fewer than 14 days before departure and the alternative transport offered does not comply with certain time limits.

The cause of the cancellation must also be assessed. Read our guide to cancelled flights .

These are events external to the airline’s normal activity that could not reasonably have been avoided, even if appropriate measures had been taken.

Certain dangerous weather conditions, air traffic control restrictions, security situations or airport closures may, depending on the facts, be considered extraordinary.

No. A technical problem is not automatically an extraordinary circumstance.

Its origin, exceptional nature and the measures the airline could reasonably have taken to prevent or limit the disruption must be assessed.

No. The answer depends in particular on who is striking, the origin of the industrial action and the control the airline could exercise over the situation.

A strike by the airline’s own staff and an external strike, such as air traffic control action, are not necessarily assessed in the same way.

Yes, particularly when the different flights were included in a single booking and the delay of the first segment caused you to arrive at least three hours late at the final destination.

The delay of the first flight is therefore not the only factor considered. Read our missed connection guide .

When tickets were purchased separately, each flight generally forms a separate contract.

The airline operating the first flight is therefore not necessarily responsible for the missed onward flight. The conditions must be assessed for each booking.

Involuntary denied boarding caused by overbooking may give rise to compensation, reimbursement or rerouting, as well as assistance during the wait.

The passenger must, however, have arrived on time with the required documents. Learn more about denied boarding .

Keep your booking confirmation, electronic ticket, boarding passes, messages from the airline and any evidence of the delay or cancellation.

For a connecting journey, keep the full itinerary and the information relating to each segment.

Yes, this may still be possible. A booking confirmation, electronic ticket, check-in evidence or any other document confirming your presence on the flight may be used.

Begin your claim with the documents available to you.

When the airline does not provide the required assistance, certain reasonable expenses directly related to the wait may be claimed.

Always keep itemised receipts and avoid expenses that are clearly excessive for the circumstances.

We review the journey details, the nature of the disruption, the delay at the final destination and the available evidence.

When the case can be submitted, we contact the airline, monitor its responses and contact you if additional information is required.

There is no identical processing time for every case. The duration depends on the airline’s response time, the complexity of the journey, the reason given and any additional steps that may be required.

Some cases can be resolved quickly, while others require several exchanges or a more detailed procedure.

An initial rejection does not necessarily mean the case is definitively closed.

We review the reason given, the available evidence and the possible next steps. The outcome then depends on the strength of the case and the available means of redress.