Cancelled Flight Rights: Refunds and Compensation

If your flight is cancelled, EU Regulation EC 261/2004 gives you concrete, enforceable rights: a full refund within 7 days or rerouting to your destination, plus flat-rate compensation of between €250 and €600 if the airline notified you less than 14 days before departure. These rights apply to any flight departing from an EU airport, regardless of the airline, as well as to flights arriving in the EU operated by a European carrier.

Refund or rerouting: the choice is yours

As soon as a flight is cancelled, the airline must offer you three options, and the decision is entirely yours:

Credit: Helsinki-Vantaa departures board 2010-04-18 by MattiPaavola, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Openverse.

• Full refund of your ticket, paid within 7 days by bank transfer, cheque or cash. If you had an onward connection you did not use, the airline must also cover your return to your original departure airport.
• Rerouting at the earliest opportunity to your final destination, on the airline’s own flights or those of a partner carrier.
• Rerouting on a later date of your choice, subject to seat availability.

One important point to keep in mind: if you choose the refund, the airline is no longer obliged to cover accommodation or meals. If you opt for rerouting, it must cover these costs until you reach your destination.

Assistance while you wait

For as long as you are waiting for rerouting, the airline must provide the following free of charge:

• Meals and refreshments proportionate to the waiting time
• Hotel accommodation if an overnight stay is necessary, plus transport between the airport and the hotel
• Two means of communication (phone calls, emails or fax)

Flat-rate compensation: €250 to €600

On top of your refund or rerouting, you are entitled to financial compensation if the airline notified you of the cancellation less than 14 days before departure. The amounts are set by EC 261/2004 based on flight distance:

These amounts may be reduced by half if the airline offers rerouting with an arrival time close to the original, based on specific criteria relating to the delay at arrival (between 2 and 4 hours depending on the notice period).

When compensation does not apply

The airline can refuse compensation in only two situations:

1. Sufficient notice: you were informed more than 14 days in advance.
2. Extraordinary circumstances: events entirely beyond the airline’s control that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, such as severe weather, air traffic control decisions or serious political instability.

Worth noting: a technical fault or an internal staff strike does not qualify as an extraordinary circumstance. The airline therefore remains liable for compensation in these situations.

How to make a claim: the practical steps

1. Keep all your documents from the moment you are at the airport: booking confirmation, boarding pass, receipts for any meals or accommodation you paid for on the spot, and all written communications from the airline.
2. Send a written claim to the airline’s customer service team, stating the dates, flight number and amount claimed. Keep a copy of everything you send.
3. Contact the French Tourism and Travel Ombudsman (Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage) if the airline does not respond or refuses. Since 6 February 2026, this step is mandatory before taking any court action.
4. File a complaint with the DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authority) if mediation fails.
5. Take legal action as a last resort, before the appropriate court depending on the amount at stake.

You have five years from the date of the incident to claim your compensation.

When travel insurance comes into play

EC 261/2004 sets out what the carrier owes you: a ticket refund and flat-rate compensation. But it does not cover everything. Travel insurance can step in for:

• Non-refundable costs paid upfront: prepaid accommodation, excursions, non-refundable visas…
• Missed connection costs if your onward flight was on a separate booking
• Situations where you need to cancel your trip (illness, family emergency, lost documents)

When the airline is the one cancelling, your travel insurance trip cancellation cover generally does not apply to the ticket itself, since that is the carrier’s responsibility. Travel insurance fills the gap for indirect losses that EU regulation does not address.

To get a clearer picture of what travel insurance actually covers, beyond the common misconceptions, read our guide on what you really need to know before you travel.

If your flight starts with a delay before being officially cancelled, your rights change as the hours tick by: read our advice on flight delays to know when and how to act. And if your luggage goes missing on arrival, find out what to do in our article on lost baggage.

FAQ

Does EU regulation apply to all my flights?

No. It covers flights departing from an EU airport (regardless of the airline) and flights arriving in the EU operated by an EU-based carrier. A Paris-Bangkok flight with Air France is covered; a Bangkok-Paris flight with a Thai airline is not.

Can the airline force a voucher on me instead of a refund?

No. If you explicitly request a cash refund or bank transfer, the airline cannot impose a voucher or credit note without your agreement.

Is a pilots’ strike an extraordinary circumstance?

No, according to European case law: an internal staff strike at the airline is not recognised as an extraordinary circumstance. The airline therefore remains liable for the flat-rate compensation.

Does my travel insurance cover a flight cancelled by the airline?

Not for the ticket itself, since the airline is directly responsible for that. However, your travel insurance can cover indirect costs that go unrefunded (prepaid accommodation, activities, etc.) and protect you if you need to cancel your own trip, depending on what your policy includes.

What if the airline does not respond to my claim?

Since 6 February 2026, you must go through mediation with the French Tourism and Travel Ombudsman (Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage) before taking any court action. You can also report the dispute to the DGAC. You have five years to act from the date of the cancellation.