Air France delay and cancellation compensation

Checked 15 Sep 2026·11 min read · 4 tables

Air France delay compensation is €250 to €600 per passenger under EU261, or £220 to £520 under UK261, once you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late. Because Air France holds a French Community licence, EU261 also reaches its flights into the EU, and UK261 its flights into the UK.

• EU261 €€250–€600per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
• UK261 ££220–£520per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
• Claim serviceNo win, no feeHand the claim over →

Key facts: Air France

Source: EU261 arts. 3, 7, 16; Cuadrench Moré — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 3, 7; limitation statutes — legislation.gov.uk; Commission and CAA lists, checked 2026-09-15.

#EU261 €How much does Air France pay under EU261 for a delay of 3 hours or more?

€250, €400 or €600 per passenger is the EU261 scale for an Air France flight that gets you to your final destination three hours or more late; the great-circle distance to that destination picks the band. The CJEU held in Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) that delayed passengers may claim these amounts unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.

Source: EU261 art. 7(1)-(2) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Sturgeon, operative part and para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Two passengers on an Air France flight into Paris CDG from outside the EU, on a route over 3,500 km, who arrive 3 hours 30 minutes late can be paid €300 each, because Sturgeon lets the airline halve €600 where the delay is less than four hours. At 4 hours 0 minutes, €600 each is due.

A cancellation uses a different cut: if Air France re-routes you and the new arrival does not exceed the originally scheduled arrival by 2, 3 or 4 hours, by band, article 7(2) says it “may” halve the amount.

#What does UK261 pay on Air France flights?

£220, £350 or £520 per passenger replaces the euro scale when UK261 covers your flight. UK261 has no within-EU band.

Source: UK261 arts. 2(n), 6(3), 7(1)-(2) — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

UK261 counts arrival when passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft: 2 hours 59 minutes late earns nothing, and from 3 hours 0 minutes compensation is due.

Record the minute the doors opened and run your band through the compensation calculator or the EU261 delay guide.

#Which Air France flights do EU261 and UK261 cover, and what depends on the licence check?

The European Commission lists Air France as a Community carrier licensed in France, in licence data as at 19 May 2026. Departures are covered on any airline: EU261 from EU airports, UK261 from UK airports. The French licence adds EU261 on Air France flights into the EU and UK261 on its flights into the UK.

Which rules apply to your Air France flight

Operating carrier: Air France, Community carrier (France), EC active operating licence list, data as at 19 May 2026.

Any “on arrival” regime drops out if you already received benefits or compensation and assistance in the departure country. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland apply EU261 to departures from their airports: read an airport there as an EU airport in the first two rows.

Source: EU261 arts. 2(c), 3(1), 3(5) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 2(c), 3(1) — legislation.gov.uk; EC licence list — transport.ec.europa.eu; EASA third-country operators list — easa.europa.eu; Commission Interpretative Guidelines C/2024/5687, fn 20 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Air France is not the only French licence in the group. The same Commission list carries HOP!, category A since 15 March 2013, as a separate operating licence holder, so a flight it operated is flown by a Community carrier in its own right: the regime does not change with the company, only the address you write to. Check the “operated by” line on your booking. Article 3(5) applies EU261 to the operating air carrier: the licence that counts belongs to the airline named as operating your flight, even when Air France sold the ticket. If Delta Air Lines, a third-country operator, operates your codeshare from the US into Paris, EU261 does not cover that arrival; Delta’s flights leaving Paris are covered. Compare KLM, Transavia and ITA Airways, Community carriers too.

Not your situation? Canada: Air Passenger Protection Regulations; lost or delayed baggage: Montreal Convention. Flying in the US? US federal rules differ: US DOT rules. Unsure? Which law covers my flight.

#What does Air France owe you while you wait at the airport?

2 hours of expected delay beyond scheduled departure starts Air France’s duty of care on flights up to 1,500 km: meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait, plus two free calls or emails. The EU261 threshold is 3 hours for flights over 1,500 km within the EU and other 1,500-3,500 km flights, and 4 hours beyond.

Source: EU261 arts. 5(3), 6(1), 8(1), 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 5(3), 6(1), 6(4), 9 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

A new departure the day after or later adds a hotel where you need one, plus transfers. From 5 hours, you can give up the flight and take a ticket refund within seven days. UK261 uses the same hours without the within-EU band.

A passenger report on r/travel (Reddit, June 2025) about an Air France claim reads: “The meal voucher was a pittance for CDG, barely enough for a sandwich at Paul”. Article 9 ties meals to the waiting time, not to a voucher value.

Care also survives a valid refusal: article 5(3) exempts the airline only from “compensation in accordance with Article 7”, so the meals, the hotel and, after a cancellation, the choice of refund or re-routing stay owed.

#How do you claim compensation from Air France directly?

2 Air France claim pages were among Google UK results on 14 September 2026: Make a claim and Track your claim. When Air France operated the flight, it owes the money: send the claim there first, with the regime and article next to the amount per passenger.

Source: Google UK results, 14 September 2026 — wwws.airfrance.co.uk; EU261 arts. 3(3), 3(5), 5(4), 7(3), 15(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Give each passenger’s name, the booking reference, the flight number, the date and the time you were allowed off the aircraft, then state the figure: “EU261, article 7(1)(c), €600 per passenger”. A ticket paid with Flying Blue miles counts, because article 3(3) covers tickets issued under a frequent flyer programme; free or reduced fares not available to the public do not.

Ask for a bank transfer and give the account details in the same message: EU261 fixes what the payment may be made in, and no booking condition reaches it. After a cancellation, Air France must prove when it told you: 14 days' notice or more removes compensation.

#Which Air France refusal reasons count as extraordinary circumstances?

Article 5(3) of EU261 lifts the compensation duty only where Air France proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. The Regulation gives no definition. UK261’s article 2(o) supplies one, including an air traffic management decision that all reasonable measures could not avoid.

Source: EU261 art. 5(3) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 2(o) — legislation.gov.uk; Wallentin-Hermann, operative part and paras 24-26 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Technical faults answer to Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008), a pre-2021 ruling that binds UK courts too, and which of them clear article 2(o) is worked through fault by fault there. An air traffic management decision is the other branch, and it is the one Air France reached for in the report below.

For a strike, read the strike compensation guide before you reply.

#If Air France rejects your claim

A passenger report on r/travel (Reddit, December 2025) about a cancelled Air France flight from Tokyo to Paris says that on board “they told us it was a mechanical problem”. Later, the poster writes, “Air France came back and said it was an ”air traffic control“ issue so they don’t have to pay after all.”

The proof sits with Air France. Reply in writing, ask which event caused the disruption and which measures were taken, and cite Wallentin-Hermann if the answer is a technical fault. See what to do when an airline refuses compensation.

#Where do you escalate a refused Air France claim?

8 weeks without a reply, or a final refusal, lets you take an Air France complaint about a flight involving a UK airport to AviationADR, the scheme the CAA lists for Air France. File within 12 months of the airline’s final response. The service is free, and a decision you accept binds Air France.

Source: CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution — caa.co.uk; AviationADR, airline and airport members — aviationadr.org.uk; CAA, How the CAA can help — caa.co.uk; Commission NEB list (27 August 2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

The CAA list, checked on 15 September 2026, names the brand “Air France”, not a company, and shows no update date. AviationADR takes member complaints when the flight involves a UK airport and lists no wider scope for Air France. Incidents must fall within 6 years, or 5 if you live in Scotland; most decisions arrive within 3 months. The CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team is only likely to consider a complaint about an airline outside an approved ADR body.

A flight with no UK airport goes to the national enforcement body of the EU country it left or, from outside the EU, the country it landed in, under article 16 of EU261. For French airports, the Commission lists the Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC), Mission du Droit des passagers. The DGAC opens a signalement only after you have complained to Air France and waited at least 2 months.

Diary the 8-week date and read the ADR scheme guide with the ADR membership map.

Rather not run AviationADR or a DGAC complaint yourself? AirHelp (third-party claim service) handles refused or ignored claims no win no fee, and keeps a fee from any payout; Air France’s claim page and AviationADR stay open.

Do it yourself · freeClaim with the airline, then the regulator

• Write to the airline and keep the reference
• Refused: the enforcement body of the country you left, free
• You keep all of the compensation

Use the claim letter template →

Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee

• They deal with Air France for you
• AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.

Start with AirHelp →Third-party claim service

#How long do you have to claim against Air France?

6 years is how long you have to sue Air France under UK261 in England and Wales, because article 3(9) points to section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980. The Northern Ireland limitation statute sets the same 6 years. EU261 itself fixes no period: national limitation rules decide it.

Source: UK261 art. 3(9); Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 art. 4; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 — legislation.gov.uk; Cuadrench Moré, operative part — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

In Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012), the CJEU held that each Member State’s rules on limitation of actions set the time limit for bringing an EU261 compensation action.

In Scotland, the figure is 5 years under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, but no Scottish court has yet ruled whether that Act or article 3(9) governs UK261. File inside 5 years there.

In a French court the period is 5 years from the flight, under article 2224 of the Code civil, and the DGAC’s own FAQ gives the same 5 years for Regulation 261/2004.

A London to New York journey via Paris booked as one unit counts under UK261 as departing London. Three passengers arriving 5 hours late can claim £1,560: in England and Wales, a small claims track case with a £115 issue fee, and further fees may follow (CPR r.26.9; gov.uk court fees).

Related clocks: delay threshold rules, compensation time limits, payout-times data.

General information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the enforcement body of the country your flight left (the DGAC for French airports), the CAA, Citizens Advice or a solicitor.

Air France complaints in the CAA figures

The CAA reports Air France and KLM as one line, "Air France / KLM": 2,328 Reg 261 complaints about the pair reached AviationADR in the CAA's 2025/26 figures (April 2025 to March 2026), an estimated 419 per million passengers, and 52.1% of cases were upheld. These are complaints the ADR body or the CAA received, not delays.

Air France / KLM: complaints, April 2025 to March 2026

CAA figure	FY26
Handled by	AviationADR
Reg 261 complaints	2,328
All complaints opened	2,848
Per million passengers (CAA estimate)	419
Uphold rate	52.1%

1. Wizz Air629
2. Air France / KLM419
3. Ryanair283
4. EgyptAir273
5. TUI Airways259
6. Turkish Airlines197
7. TAP Air Portugal169
8. easyJet154
9. Air Canada129
10. Virgin Atlantic112

Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 (Q2 2025 – Q1 2026), data correct as of 3 June 2026 — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22. The CAA calls the per-million figure "an indicative estimated value only".

#Sources

• EU261 (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004) - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009) - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 (2008) - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (2012) - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• UK261 and SI 2023/1370 - legislation.gov.uk.
• Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Limitation (NI) Order 1989 art. 4; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 - legislation.gov.uk.
• European Commission, EU air carriers holding an active operating licence (data as at 19 May 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu.
• European Commission, national enforcement bodies list (27 August 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu.
• Commission Interpretative Guidelines C/2024/5687 - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• EASA, authorised third-country operators - easa.europa.eu.
• CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution - caa.co.uk; Delays - caa.co.uk; How the CAA can help - caa.co.uk.
• AviationADR, Airline and airport members - aviationadr.org.uk.
• Small claims track and court fees - justice.gov.uk, gov.uk.
• Air France, Make a claim - wwws.airfrance.co.uk.
• France: Code civil art. 2224; DGAC, Mission du droit des passagers, “je m’informe” (5-year limit for Regulation 261/2004) - droits-passagers-aeriens.aviation-civile.gouv.fr, checked 2026-09-18.

#FAQ

Who do you send the claim to if HOP! operated your Air France flight?

The company that operated it. HOP! holds its own French operating licence, category A, effective since 15 March 2013, on the same Commission list that carries Air France. Both are Community carriers, so the cover is identical; only the addressee changes. Read the 'operated by' line on your booking.

How long do you have to claim against Air France?

5 years from the flight in a French court, under Code civil article 2224; the DGAC's own FAQ states the same figure for Regulation 261/2004. A UK261 claim gets 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scotland's 1973 Act sets 5, still untested.

How do you complain to the DGAC about Air France?

Complain to Air France first: the DGAC opens a signalement only once you have done that and waited at least 2 months. It is France's enforcement body for EU261 and covers departures from French airports. A flight involving a UK airport goes to AviationADR after 8 weeks instead.

Air France said mechanical problem, then air traffic control - which counts?

Whichever one Air France can prove: article 5(3) puts that burden on the airline. A passenger on Reddit's r/travel in December 2025 reported being told on board that a Tokyo to Paris cancellation was a "mechanical problem", then hearing afterwards it was an "air traffic control" issue and that nothing was payable. Get the cause in writing.