MY AIRRIGHTS

EGYPTIAN REGULATION

Last checked: 14/12/2022

Air passenger rights

Egyptian Regulation ECAR 601 Apply:

  • This Regulation shall apply to international flights.
  • If your flight arrives in Egypt from outside Egypt and is operated by an Egyptian airline.
  • If your flight departs from Egypt to a non-Egyptian country operated by an Egyptian or a non-Egyptian airline.
  • If you have not already received benefits (compensation, re-routing, assistance from the airline) for flight related problems for this journey under the relevant law of a non-Egyptian country.

Obligation to inform passengers of their rights

The operating air carrier shall ensure that at check-in a clearly legible notice containing the following text is displayed in a manner clearly visible to passengers: ‘If you are denied boarding or if your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, ask at the check-in counter or boarding gate for the text stating your rights, particularly with regard to compensation and assistance’.

An operating air carrier denying boarding or cancelling a flight shall provide each passenger affected with a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance in line with this Regulation. It shall also provide each passenger affected by a delay or a change of schedule of at least two hours with an equivalent notice. The contact details of the national designated body referred to in Article 16 shall also be given to the passenger in written form.

In respect of blind and visually impaired persons, the provisions of this Article shall be applied using appropriate alternative means.

Warning

The outbound and return flights are always considered as two separate flights even if they were booked as part of one reservation. In some cases the airline operating the flight (also known as the operating air carrier) may not be the same as the one from which you bought your ticket. In case of any difficulties only the airline which operates the flight can be held responsible. In cases where an airline hires (under a wet lease) an aircraft including crew from another airline, the airline which hires the aircraft has operational responsibility for the flight and is regarded as the operating airline under ECAR 601.

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FAQs

Denied boarding

When an operating air carrier reasonably expects to deny boarding, it shall first call for volunteers to surrender their reservations in exchange for benefits under conditions to be agreed

Volunteers

Volunteers shall be assisted in accordance with :

passengers shall be offered the choice between:

  • Reimbursement within seven days of the passenger’s request of the ticket price at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made and a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity
  • Continuation of the passengers’ travel plan, by re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination, at a date to agree upon between the carrier and the passengers.

  • Such assistance being additional to the benefits mentioned in accordance with Part (601-9):

    Meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time.
  • Hotel accommodation in cases where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary.
  • Transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel, place of residence of the passenger or other).
  • passengers shall be offered free of charge two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails.
  • Insufficient volunteers

    If an insufficient number of volunteers come forward the operating air carrier may then deny boarding to passengers against their will and the operating air carrier shall immediately compensate them in accordance with :

    Warning

    A printed or electronic notice informing you of your EU air passenger rights must be clearly displayed at the airport check-in desk, at check-in kiosks and on-line. If you were denied boarding, your flight was cancelled, you experienced a delay of more than 2 hours at departure or you arrive with a long delay at your final destination, the airline must give you a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance.

    Cancelled flight

    Cancellation occurs when:

    • your original flight schedule is abandoned and you are transferred to another scheduled flight
    • the aircraft took off but, was forced to return to the airport of departure and you were transferred to another flight
    • your flight arrives at an airport which is not the final destination indicated on your ticket, unless:
      • You accepted re-routing (under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity) to the airport of your original final destination or to any other destination agreed by you. In this case it is considered as a delay and not a cancellation.
      • The airport of arrival and the airport of the original final destination serve the same town, city or region. In this case it is considered as a delay and not a cancellation.

    If your flight is cancelled you have the right to choose between reimbursement, re-routing or return.

    You are also entitled to assistance at the airport.

    If you were informed of the cancellation less than 14 days prior to the scheduled departure date, you have a right to compensation. The airline has the obligation to prove if and when you were personally informed that the flight was cancelled.

    However, compensation is not due if the carrier can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. The airline has to prove this by providing, for example, extracts from logbooks or incident reports. The air carrier should give this evidence to the relevant national enforcement body as well as to the passengers concerned in line with national provisions on access to documents.

    Warning

    A printed or electronic notice informing you of your EU air passenger rights must be clearly displayed at the airport check-in desk, at check-in kiosks and on-line. If you were denied boarding, your flight was cancelled, you experienced a delay of more than 2 hours at departure or you arrive with a long delay at your final destination, the airline must give you a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance.

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    FAQs

    Delay

    If your flight is delayed at departure, you have the right to assistance, to reimbursement and a return flight, depending on the duration of the delay and the distance of the flight.

    When an operating air carrier reasonably expects the departure of a flight to be delayed by at least two hours passengers shall be offered the relevant assistance specified in Part ( 601-9 ):

    • Meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time.
    • Hotel accommodation in cases where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary.
    • Transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel, place of residence of the passenger or other.

    If you arrived at your final destination with a delay of more than 5 hours, you are entitled to compensation, unless the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances. The airline has to prove this by providing, for example, extracts from logbooks or incident reports. The air carrier should give this evidence to the relevant national enforcement body as well as to the passengers concerned in line with national provisions on access to documents.

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    FAQs

    Your flight was overbooked

    If you have presented yourself on time for the check-in with a valid flight reservation and travel documentation and you're denied boarding due to overbooking or for operational reasons, and you don't voluntarily give up your seat, you are entitled to:

    Warning

    A printed or electronic notice informing you of your EU air passenger rights must be clearly displayed at the airport check-in desk, at check-in kiosks and on-line. If you were denied boarding, your flight was cancelled, you experienced a delay of more than 2 hours at departure or you arrive with a long delay at your final destination, the airline must give you a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance.

    Upgrading or downgrading

    If you are upgraded, the airline can't request any additional payment.

    If you are downgraded, you are entitled to reimbursement of a percentage of the price of your ticket, depending on the flight distance as follows:

    a) 30% - flights of 1 500 km or less

    b) 50% - flights within the EU of more than 1 500 km (except flights between the EU and French overseas departments), and all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 km

    c) 75% - flights not falling under (a) or (b), including flights between the EU and French overseas departments.

    If you have 2 or more connecting flights included in a single ticket, you can only be reimbursed for the flight which was downgraded and not for the entire journey. The reimbursement should be paid within 7 days.

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    FAQs

    You missed your connecting flight

    Connecting flights are journeys where you have to take more than one flight to get to your final destination.

    If you miss a connecting flight, and arrive at your final destination with a delay of more than 3 hours, you are entitled to compensation.  This compensation is calculated according to the length of the delay and the distance to your final destination.

    You have a right to compensation if:

    • your flights were booked as part of a single reservation and
    • EU air passenger rights apply and
    • the delay to your arrival time was not caused by extraordinary circumstances

    Warning

    You are not entitled to compensation if you miss your connecting flight due to delays at security checks or if you did not respect the boarding time of your flight at the airport of transfer.

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    Lost, damaged or delayed luggage


    What are limitations to liability?

    All air carriers’ tariffs must set out how an air carrier limits its liability with respect to the transportation of passenger and goods. This part of an air carrier’s tariff addresses the extent of an air carrier’s liability in cases of personal injury or death arising out of accidents during air transportation, passenger delays and also establishes the maximum levels of damages to be paid for instances of lost, damaged or delayed baggage. For international travel, limits of liability are subject to the Convention for the Unification of certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (otherwise known as the Montreal Convention), or the Warsaw Convention in countries that have not ratified the Montreal Convention. Egypt has joined and signed the Montreal Convention on 25/04/2005. https://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf The limits of liability set in the Montreal Convention are reviewed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at five-year intervals to determine whether the levels of liability need to be revised for inflation (the last such revision occurred in December 2019). Please refer to Annex A International tariffs must include the terms of any applicable international convention.

    What are the Montreal and Warsaw Conventions?

    The Montreal Convention is an international treaty that came into force in 2003. It modernizes the rules of the Warsaw Convention of 1929. Some countries are party to both the Montreal Convention and the Warsaw convention, some are party to only one or the other and others are party to neither.  If a country has not ratified the Montreal Convention, the Warsaw Convention may still apply. If a country has not ratified either the Montreal or Warsaw Conventions, then no international treaty would apply and the carrier would establish its own limits of liability. The Montreal Convention establishes limits of carrier liability for international carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo as follows:

    • In the case of destruction, loss, damage or delay in relation to the carriage of cargo – Limit = 22 SDR per Kilo (Article 22, paragraph 3)
    • In the case of destruction, loss, damage or delay with respect to baggage – Limit = 1288 SDR per passenger (Article 22, paragraph 2)
    • In relation to damage caused by delay in the carriage of persons – Limit = 5,346 SDR  per passenger (Article 22, paragraph 1)

    Checked-in luggage

    If your checked-in luggage is lost, damaged or delayed, the airline is liable and you're entitled to compensation up to an amount of approximately EUR 1 300. However if the damage was caused by an inherent defect in the baggage itself, you're not entitled to any compensation.

    Hand luggage

    If your hand luggage is damaged the airline is liable if it was responsible for the damage.

    Travel insurance

    To ensure you have sufficient coverage when travelling with expensive items it's advisable to take out private insurance. If you do not wish to do so you can for a fee request a higher compensation limit (in excess of EUR 1 300) from the airline you are travelling with. This must be done in advance and at the latest when you check-in.

    How to complain

    If you want to file a claim for lost or damaged luggage, you should do it in writing to the airline within 7 days, or within 21 days of receiving your luggage if it was delayed. There is no standard EU-wide form.

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    FAQs

    Compensation - denied boarding

    Amount in EGP

    Distance

    300

    all flights under 1000 kilometers

    900

    all flights between 1000 and 4000 kilometers

    1500

    all flights above 4000 kilometers

    If you arrived on time for check‑in, you should always receive compensation if you're denied boarding. The only exception is if there were reasonable grounds to deny you boarding, such as health, safety or security concerns. Or if you did not have the required travel documents.

    Even in cases where such grounds exist, airlines might still offer you compensation depending on the specific terms and conditions attached to your ticket.

    Connecting flight – one reservation with a single check-in

    If you are denied boarding because the airline operating the connecting flight deemed that you would arrive too late to board this flight (as your first flight was delayed) compensation is due.

    Warning

    If the airline has offered you re-routing and you reach your final destination with a delay of 2, 3 or 4 hours the compensation may be reduced by 50%.

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    Compensation - cancellation

    Amount in EGP

    Distance

    300

    all flights under 1000 kilometers

    900

    all flights between 1000 and 4000 kilometers.

    1500

    all flights above 4000 kilometers.

    If your flight is cancelled, the airline must offer you, on a one off basis, a choice between:

    1. the reimbursement of your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, a return flight to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity
    2. re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or,
    3. re-routing at a later date at your convenience under comparable transport conditions, subject to the availability of seats.

    As soon as you have chosen one of these three options, you no longer have rights in relation to the other two options. However, the airline carrier may still have to provide compensation

    • if you choose to have your ticket reimbursed – the compensation will depend on the type of flight
    • if you choose re-routing – compensation will depend on the type of flight and the delay in reaching your final destination, past the original scheduled arrival time.

    You're not entitled to compensation:

    • if you are informed more than 14 days in advance
    • if you are informed between 2 weeks and 7 days before the scheduled departure and you are offered re-routing which would allow you:
      • to depart no more than 2 hours before the original scheduled time of departure and
      • to reach your final destination less than 4 hours after the original scheduled time of arrival
    • if you are informed less than 7 days before the scheduled departure and are offered re-routing which would allow you:
      • to depart no more than 1 hour before the original scheduled time of departure and
      • to reach your final destination less than 2 hours after the original scheduled time of arrival.

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    Compensation - delay at arrival

    Amount in EGP

    Distance

    300

    all flights under 1000 kilometers.

    900

    all flights between 1000 and 4000 kilometers.

    1500

    all flights above 4000 kilometers.


    Where the passenger arrives at its final destination:

    • Five hours or more after the scheduled time of arrival for journeys of 3500 kilometers or less.
    • Nine hours or more after the scheduled time of arrival for journeys between of 6000 kilometers or more.
    • Passengers shall have a right to compensation from the operating air carrier in accordance with Part ( 601-7 )..

    Warning

    Obligation to inform passengers of their rights

    The operating air carrier shall ensure that at check-in a clearly legible notice containing the following text is displayed in a manner clearly visible to passengers: ‘If you are denied boarding or if your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, ask at the check-in counter or boarding gate for the text stating your rights, particularly with regard to compensation and assistance’.

    An operating air carrier denying boarding or cancelling a flight shall provide each passenger affected with a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance in line with this Regulation. It shall also provide each passenger affected by a delay or a change of schedule of at least two hours with an equivalent notice. The contact details of the national designated body referred to in Article 16 shall also be given to the passenger in written form.

    In respect of blind and visually impaired persons, the provisions of this Article shall be applied using appropriate alternative means.

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    Compensation - denied boarding due to overbooking

    Amount in EUR

    Distance

    250

    1 500 km or less

    400

    More than 1 500 km within the EU and all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 km

    600

    More than 3 500 km

    You should always receive compensation if you're denied boarding.

    Connecting flight – one reservation with a single check-in.

    If you are denied boarding because the airline operating the connecting flight deemed that you would arrive too late to board this flight (as your first flight was delayed) compensation is due.

    Warning

    If the airline has offered you re-routing and you reach your final destination with a delay of 2, 3 or 4 hours, your compensation may be reduced by 50%.

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    Assistance in the event of denied boarding

    Airlines should provide assistance free of charge while you wait. In the event of travel disruption, you should make yourself known to the airline, to avoid a situation where you have to make your own arrangements. Airlines should also ensure, where available, that accommodation is accessible for people with disabilities and their service dogs. The assistance to be provided includes:

    • Refreshments
    • Food
    • Accommodation (if you are rebooked to travel the next day)
    • Transport to your accommodation and return to the airport
    • 2 telephone calls, telex, fax messages or emails

    If assistance is not offered and you paid for any of the above items out of your own pocket, the airline should reimburse you, provided the expenses were necessary, reasonable and appropriate. You should keep all receipts for this purpose. You only have the right to assistance as long as you have to wait for re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or a return flight.

    In exceptional cases, the airline may decide to limit or decline assistance if it would cause further delay to passengers waiting for an alternative or a delayed flight.

    Warning

    Unless the terms and conditions of your ticket specify otherwise, you are not entitled to assistance if:

    • you were denied boarding on reasonable health, safety or security grounds
    • you did not have the required travel documents

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    Assistance in the event of cancellation

    Airlines should offer you and provide assistance free of charge while you wait. In the event of travel disruption, you should make yourself known to the airline, to avoid a situation where you have to make your own arrangements. Airlines should also ensure, where available, that accommodation is accessible for people with disabilities and their service dogs. The assistance to be provided includes:

    • Refreshments
    • Food
    • Accommodation (if you are rebooked to travel the next day)
    • Transport to your accommodation and return to the airport
    • 2 telephone calls, telex, fax messages or emails

    If assistance is not offered and you paid for your own meals and refreshments etc., the airline should reimburse you, provided the expenses were necessary, reasonable and appropriate. You should keep all receipts for this purpose. You only have the right to assistance as long as you have to wait for re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or a return flight.

    In exceptional cases, the airline may decide to limit or decline assistance if it would cause further delay to passengers waiting for an alternative or a delayed flight.

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    Assistance in the event of delay at departure

    If an airline expects that your flight will be delayed beyond the scheduled departure time, you are entitled to meals and refreshments, in proportion to the waiting time, and 2 free telephone calls, emails or faxes. The point at which you are entitled to these rights depends on the length of the delay and distance of your flight as follows:

    • a delay of two hours or more for flights of 1,500km or less
    • a delay of three hours or more for intra-Community flights of more than 1,500km and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,000km
    • a delay of four hours or more for all other flights

    Where the new expected departure time is at least the day after the initially scheduled departure time, you are entitled to hotel accommodation and transport to and from the airport and your accommodation (if you need to stay overnight).

    Airlines should offer you and provide assistance free of charge while you wait. In the event of travel disruption, you should make yourself known to the airline, to avoid a situation where you have to make your own arrangements. Airlines should also ensure, where available, that accommodation is accessible for people with disabilities and their service dogs.

    If assistance is not offered and you paid for your own meals and refreshments, the airline should reimburse you, provided the expenses were necessary, reasonable and appropriate. You should keep all receipts for this purpose. You only have the right to assistance as long as you have to wait for re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or a return flight.

    In exceptional cases, the airline may decide to limit or decline assistance if it would cause further delay to passengers waiting for an alternative or a delayed flight.

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    Assistance in the event of denied boarding due to overbooking

    Airlines should offer you and provide assistance free of charge while you wait. In the event of travel disruption, you should make yourself known to the airline, to avoid a situation where you have to make your own arrangements. Airlines should also ensure, where available, that accommodation is accessible for people with disabilities and their service dogs. The assistance to be provided includes:

    • Refreshments
    • Food
    • Accommodation (if you are rebooked to travel the next day)
    • Transport to your accommodation and return to the airport
    • 2 telephone calls, telex, fax messages or emails

    If assistance is not offered and you paid for your own meals and refreshments etc., the airline should reimburse you, provided the expenses were necessary, reasonable and appropriate. You should keep all receipts for this purpose. You only have the right to assistance as long as you have to wait for re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or a return flight.

    In exceptional cases, the airline may decide to limit or decline assistance if it would cause further delay to passengers waiting for an alternative or a delayed flight.

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    Reimbursement, re-routing or rebooking in the event of denied boarding

    The airline must offer you, on a oneoff basis, a choice between:

    1. the reimbursement of your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, a return flight to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity
    2. re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or,
    3. re-routing at a later date at your convenience under comparable transport conditions (i.e. ‘rebooking'), subject to the availability of seats.

    As soon as you have chosen one of these three options, you no longer have rights in relation to the other two options. However, the airline may still have to provide compensation depending on the distance of your flight and the length of the delay past your original planned arrival time.

    • If the airline does not comply with its obligation to offer re-routing or return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity, it has to reimburse your flight costs.
    • If the airline does not offer you the choice between reimbursement and re-routing but decides unilaterally to reimburse your original ticket, you are entitled to an additional reimbursement of the price difference with the new ticket (under comparable transport conditions).
    • If you booked an outbound and a return flight separately with different airlines and the outbound flight is cancelled, reimbursement is only due for the cancelled flight.

    However, if the outbound and return flights are operated by different airlines, but were part of a single reservation, in the event that the outbound flight was cancelled, you have the following rights:

    • Compensation
    • A choice between the reimbursement of your entire ticket (outbound and return flights) or re-routing on another flight for the outbound flight

    Warning

    Unless the terms and conditions of your ticket specify otherwise, you are not entitled to reimbursement or re‑rerouting if:

    • you were denied boarding on reasonable health, safety or security grounds

    • you did not have the required travel documents

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    Reimbursement, re-routing or rebooking in the event of cancellation

    The airline must offer you, on a one off basis, a choice between:

    1. the reimbursement of your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, a return flight to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity
    2. re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or,
    3. re-routing at a later date at your convenience under comparable transport conditions, subject to the availability of seats.

    Warning

    Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, carriers are issuing vouchers you can redeem later as an alternative to reimbursement.

    In this case, as a passenger, you must always be given the choice between a cash reimbursement and a voucher.

    As soon as you have chosen one of these three options, you no longer have rights in relation to the other two options. However, the airline may still have to provide compensation depending on the distance of your flight and the length of the delay past your original planned arrival time.

    • If the airline does not comply with its obligation to offer re-routing or return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity, it has to reimburse your flight costs.
    • If the airline does not offer you the choice between reimbursement and re-routing but decides unilaterally to reimburse your original ticket, you are entitled to an additional reimbursement of the price difference with the new ticket (under comparable transport conditions).
    • If you booked an outbound and a return flight separately with different airlines and the outbound flight is cancelled, reimbursement is only due for the cancelled flight.

    If the outbound and return flights are operated by different airlines, but were part of a single reservation, in the event that the outbound flight was cancelled, you have the following rights:

    • Compensation
    • A choice between the reimbursement of your entire ticket (outbound and return flights) or re-routing on another flight for the outbound flight

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    Reimbursement and a return flight in the event of a long delay (5 hours or more) at departure

    If your flight is delayed at least 5 hours at departure, the airline must reimburse your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, offer a return to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity.

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    Reimbursement, re-routing or rebooking in the event of denied boarding due to overbooking

    The airline must offer you, on a one off basis, a choice between:

    1. the reimbursement of your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, a return flight to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity
    2. re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or,
    3. re-routing at a later date at your convenience under comparable transport conditions, subject to the availability of seats.

    As soon as you have chosen one of these three options, you no longer have rights in relation to the other two options. However, the airline may still have to provide compensation depending on the distance of your flight and the length of the delay past your original planned arrival time.

    • If the airline does not comply with its obligation to offer re-routing or return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity, it has to reimburse your flight costs.
    • If the airline does not offer you the choice between reimbursement and re-routing but decides unilaterally to reimburse your original ticket, you are entitled to an additional reimbursement of the price difference with the new ticket (under comparable transport conditions).
    • If you booked an outbound and a return flight separately with different airlines and the outbound flight is cancelled, reimbursement is only due for the cancelled flight.

    However, if the outbound and return flights are operated by different airlines, but were part of a single reservation, in the event that the outbound flight was cancelled, you have the following rights:

    • Compensation
    • A choice between the reimbursement of your entire ticket (outbound and return flights) or re-routing on another flight for the outbound flight

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    Extraordinary circumstances - Cancellation

    Extraordinary circumstances can lead to more than one cancellation or delay at the final destination. Examples of events defined as extraordinary circumstances are air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather conditions and security risks.

    Situations which are not considered as extraordinary circumstances include:

    • most technical problems which come to light during aircraft maintenance or are caused by failure to maintain an aircraft
    • collision of mobile boarding stairs with an aircraft
    • strikes by air carrier staff (internal strike action)

    Any strike external to an air carrier that affects the operation of the airline may be considered as extraordinary circumstances. However, to be exempted from paying compensation, the airline must prove that: i) there is a link between the extraordinary circumstances and the delay or the cancellation, and ii) the delay or cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

    Extraordinary circumstances - Delay

    Extraordinary circumstances can lead to more than one cancellation or delay at the final destination. Examples of events defined as extraordinary circumstances are air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather conditions and security risks.

    Situations which are not considered as extraordinary circumstances include:

    • most technical problems which come to light during aircraft maintenance or are caused by failure to maintain an aircraft
    • collision of mobile boarding stairs with an aircraft
    • strikes by air carrier staff (internal strike action)

    Any strike external to an air carrier that affects the operation of the airline may be considered as extraordinary circumstances. However, to be exempted from paying compensation, the airline must prove that: i) there is a link between the extraordinary circumstances and the delay or the cancellation, and ii) the delay or cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

    Claim your rights

    If you think your rights have not been respected, there are several forms of redress you can can use. However you should always send your complaint to the airline first. You can also consult your local European Consumer CentreOpen as an external link for help and advice on problems related to air passenger rights.

    Complain to the airline

    You should always send your complaint to the airline first using either the complaint form provided by the airline or the EU air passenger rights formPDF document.

    Complain to national authorities

    If you don't receive a reply from the airline within 2 months or if you are not satisfied with the reply, you can lodge a complaint with the relevant national authorityPDF document in the country where the incident took place, within a reasonable timeframe. The national authority should provide you with a non-binding legal opinion on how to proceed with your claim.

    Use Alternative Dispute Resolution Entities (ADR) / Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)

    You can also try to resolve your dispute using out-of-court procedures or an Alternative Dispute Resolution entity (ADR). If you bought your ticket online, you can submit your complaint via the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. ADR and ODR are only available to EU residents.

    Going to court

    You may wish to resort to formal legal action and present a claim for compensation under EU rules using the European Small Claims procedure. For flights operated by an EU airline, you can submit your claim either at the place of arrival or departure. The same rule applies to connecting flights, which are part of a single reservation, but which may be operated by different air carriers. You may also bring the matter before the courts in the country where the airline is registered.

    If the airline is not registered in an EU country, you can submit your case to the courts in the EU country where your flight arrived, departed or connected. The time limits for bringing an action against an airline in a national court are defined in accordance with national rules on the limitation of actions in each EU country.

    Warning

    Important information for people submitting a claim to a claims agency: Information notice on relevant EU consumer protection, marketing and data protection law applicable to claim agencies' activities in relation to Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights.