Transavia delay and cancellation compensation

Checked 15 Sep 2026·8 min read · 5 tables

€250, €400 or €600 per passenger under EU261, or £220, £350 or £520 under UK261, is what Transavia owes when a flight departing an EU or UK airport reaches your final destination three hours or more late, unless extraordinary circumstances caused it. 2 licensed companies fly for Transavia, both Community carriers, so EU261 and UK261 cover their arrivals into the EU and the UK too.

• 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: Transavia

Source: EU261 arts. 2, 3 and 7 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 2, 3 and 7 — legislation.gov.uk; EC active operating licence list (ACOL data 19/05/2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu; CAA ADR pages — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

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

€250, €400 or €600 per passenger is what Transavia owes under EU261 when your flight reaches its final destination three hours or more late, banded by distance, unless extraordinary circumstances caused it. The same amounts apply to a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice.

Source: EU261 art. 7(1)-(2) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009), para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Within the EU, a delayed flight over 1,500 km stays at €400: Sturgeon’s paragraph 63 only reduces the top band, 7(2)(c), so a Transavia compensation delay claim on an intra-EU route never drops to €300.

The amount is per passenger and ignores the fare. Two passengers on a 900 km route delayed 3 hours 20 minutes are owed €500 between them. Time the delay to the moment passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft. That is the arrival definition UK261 spells out in article 2(n), and 2 hours 59 minutes late earns you nothing.

Check your band in the compensation calculator, then read the EU261 hub and the EU261 delay compensation guide.

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

2 companies fly for Transavia: Transavia Airlines C.V., licensed in the Netherlands since 28 February 1995, and Transavia France, licensed in France since 11 May 2007. Both are Community carriers, so EU261 and UK261 cover departures from an EU or UK airport, and arrivals into either, whichever company flew.

Transavia companies and their licences

Which rules apply to your Transavia flight

Under UK261, the same three-hour delay earns £220, £350 or £520 by distance. A flight between the UK and the EU meets both Regulations at once, one of them on departure and the other on arrival by a Community carrier; article 3(1)(b) of each then takes the inbound right away if you already received benefits, compensation and assistance in the country you left. Which of the two companies flew you changes nothing else, unlike a group that also holds a UK-only licence.

Source: EU261 art. 2(c), art. 3(1)(a)-(b) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 2(c), art. 3(1)(a)-(b) — legislation.gov.uk; EC licence list (data as at 19 May 2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Not your situation? Canadian routes fall under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations; the UK rules have their own hub, UK261; flying in the US: US federal rules differ, see US DOT rules; unsure which law fits: work it out here.

#How do you claim compensation from Transavia directly?

Out of the Netherlands a Transavia claim runs out at 2 years, out of France at 5: where you took off sets the deadline, so send it early. Name the operating carrier your booking shows, Transavia Airlines C.V. or Transavia France, with the flight number and date, the arrival delay or cancellation notice, and your band amount.

Source: EU261 art. 3(5) and art. 15 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 15 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

The operating carrier owes the claim, even on a ticket sold by a different airline. A Reddit r/Flights post (u/EwanMe, 9 Sep 2026, passenger report) describes a flight bought at KLM but flown by Transavia (Alicante to Amsterdam); Transavia, not KLM, was the right target once KLM passed the claim on. Article 15 of both Regulations stops Transavia limiting or waiving these obligations by contract, so a fare rule that tries to exclude compensation has no effect.

#Transavia claim and complaint pages

Set an 8-week reminder the day you send it; the EU261 hub sets out how Transavia has to pay you and the voucher you can refuse.

#Where do you escalate a refused Transavia claim?

8 weeks without a reply, or a final refusal, lets you escalate a Transavia claim: Transavia is not among the airlines on the CAA’s ADR lists checked 15 September 2026. A UK-departing claim goes instead to the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT), which cannot make a binding decision; an EU-departing claim goes to that country’s enforcement body.

Source: CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution and How the CAA can help — caa.co.uk; European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies (27 Aug 2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu; EU261 arts. 5(3), 8 and 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

PACT will only look at a complaint if the airline is not an ADR member and there is still more than a year left to sue. Departing the Netherlands, complain to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate; departing France, to the Direction générale de l’aviation civile. Flying into the EU from outside it, write to the body of the country you landed in.

#If Transavia rejects your claim

Ask Transavia in writing to name the cause and the reasonable measures it took, then test the answer against the causes that qualify, where the technical-fault line is set out with the case law behind it.

A Reddit r/Flights post (u/EwanMe, 9 Sep 2026) quotes Transavia’s own refusal for an Alicante to Amsterdam flight: “The delay was caused by an Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) regulation or capacity restriction imposed because Air Traffic Control (ATC) was unable to safely manage the volume of en-route air traffic.” The same post says a flight attendant told the passenger afterwards that the real cause was an air conditioning fault a mechanic had to reset. One post is an anecdote, but it shows what to check: ask Transavia for the specific ATFM decision it relies on, not just the label.

Even a defence Transavia makes out takes away the €250 to €600 and nothing else: article 5(3) exempts it from the article 7 payment alone, and the meals, the hotel, the re-routing and the refund under articles 8 and 9 keep running.

Compare the ADR scheme guide, ADR map and refused compensation guide.

Refused a Transavia compensation delay claim? AirHelp (third-party claim service) works no win no fee and keeps a fee from any payout; PACT, the EU enforcement bodies and Transavia’s own claim form stay free.

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 Transavia 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 Transavia?

6 years from when the claim arose is the England, Wales and Northern Ireland limit for a UK261 claim against Transavia. The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 sets 5 years, an open point for UK261 claims that no Scottish court has decided.

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; BW Boek 8 art. 8:1835 — wetten.overheid.nl; Code civil art. 2224 and the DGAC FAQ — aviation-civile.gouv.fr, checked 2026-09-15/18.

EU261 sets no time limit of its own: Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) sends the question to national law, and the answer changes with the airport you left. A flight out of the Netherlands gives two years, under article 8:1835 of Book 8 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek, counted from the day after arrival. Out of France it is five, under article 2224 of the Code civil, repeated by the DGAC on its own passenger-rights FAQ. Transavia’s licences change neither figure.

File inside 5 years if a Scottish court might hear the claim; see the small claims court guide for a UK261 court claim (Air passenger rights by regime).

Similar airlines: KLM, which sold the ticket in the Reddit example above; Air France; and Vueling.

General information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the CAA, the European Consumer Centre in your country or a solicitor.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15 and 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2, 3, 7 and 15 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Limitation Act 1980 s.9 - legislation.gov.uk; Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 art. 4 - legislation.gov.uk; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• European Commission, active operating licence list (ACOL data 19/05/2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution - caa.co.uk; CAA, How the CAA can help - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 27 Aug 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Sturgeon, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 (2008), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (2012), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Transavia, own pages (opened 17 Sep 2026): Submitting a claim, Contact and complaints.

#FAQ

I booked with KLM but Transavia operated the flight: who owes the compensation?

Transavia, under article 3(5) of both Regulations: the operating carrier owes the claim whoever sold the ticket, and article 15 stops any fare rule waiving it. A Reddit passenger report from September 2026 describes KLM passing exactly that claim on, for an Alicante to Amsterdam flight.

Transavia flew me from the Netherlands to the UK: do EU261 and UK261 both apply?

Both, one on departure and one on arrival: EU261 covers leaving the Netherlands and UK261 the landing, since Transavia Airlines C.V. is a Community carrier. Article 3(1)(b) then drops the arrival right where the country you left already gave you benefits. Distance sets the band, £220 to £520 or €250 to €600, unless Transavia proves extraordinary circumstances.

How long do I have to claim against Transavia?

2 years covers a flight out of the Netherlands, under article 8:1835 of Book 8 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek; France allows 5 under article 2224 of the Code civil. England, Wales and Northern Ireland give a UK261 claim 6 years; Scotland 5, untested.

Transavia blamed air traffic control: what should I ask for?

The specific decision, not the label. Ask Transavia in writing which Air Traffic Flow Management measure it relies on, on which date and for which aircraft it was issued, and what it did to limit the delay once it knew. Keep every written answer, because ATC alone is not one.