EU261 €How long you have to claim compensation for a flight in Switzerland

Checked 15 Sep 2026·7 min read

2 years is the safe deadline to work to for an EU261 claim in Switzerland, even though Swiss general law’s own period runs ten. A cantonal court has already applied the shorter figure to an EU261-type claim and found it time-barred. Below: which Swiss period actually governs, why an EU regulation reaches Switzerland at all, which flights are covered, and what comes before a Swiss court will hear you.

#EU261 €How long do you have to bring an EU261 claim in Switzerland?

2 years, not the 10 years Swiss general law suggests, is the safe deadline for an EU261 claim in Switzerland. The Air Transport Ordinance’s own 2-year period, a forfeiture deadline rather than an ordinary limitation period, is the one a Swiss cantonal court has already applied to a claim like this.

The Code of Obligations (OR) article 127 sets Switzerland’s general limitation period at ten years: “Mit Ablauf von zehn Jahren verjähren alle Forderungen, für die das Bundeszivilrecht nicht etwas anderes bestimmt.”

A more specific rule competes with it. The Lufttransportverordnung (LTrV) article 14 sets its own two-year period for a damages claim, running from arrival, expected arrival, or interruption. Swiss law labels this a forfeiture period, Verwirkungsfrist, not a limitation period, Verjährung. The two are different legal categories; what the difference changes for a passenger is not covered by any source we hold, so this page gives the label and no more.

A Basel-Stadt cantonal court already chose between them. In BEZ.2016.3 (29 June 2016), the Appellationsgericht Basel-Stadt applied the two-year LTrV period to an EU261-type lump-sum claim, a closer fit than the ten-year OR period meant for complex damages claims, and held the claim time-barred. This is cantonal, not federal Bundesgericht authority: persuasive, not binding nationwide, and no federal ruling was found. The ruling was read on entscheidsuche.ch, a decision aggregator reproducing the court’s own words, not the court’s domain.

Source: Code of Obligations (OR) art. 127 - fedlex.admin.ch; Lufttransportverordnung (LTrV, SR 748.411) art. 14 - fedlex.admin.ch; Appellationsgericht Basel-Stadt, BEZ.2016.3 (29 June 2016) - entscheidsuche.ch, checked 2026-09-18.

Act on two years, not ten, until a federal ruling says otherwise.

#Why does an EU regulation apply in Switzerland, and which Swiss period governs?

1999 is the year of the EU-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement, the instrument through which Regulation 261/2004 applies in Switzerland, a country outside both the EU and the EEA. Section 1 of the Agreement’s Annex lists articles 1 to 18 of the Regulation.

The Annex, in its version consolidated on 15 July 2023, does the translation work through horizontal adaptations: references to Member States “shall... apply equally to Switzerland,” and “Community air carrier” is defined to include a Swiss-licensed carrier under Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008. The Commission’s interpretative guidelines confirm that the Regulation applies to Switzerland under the 1999 Agreement.

EU261 sets no deadline of its own: the CJEU held in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) that national rules on limitation fill that gap. Swiss federal law offers two candidates, the ten years in OR article 127 and the two years in LTrV article 14. The one ruling found, a cantonal one, picked the two years.

Source: EU-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement, Annex (introductory indents; Section 1), consolidated 15 July 2023 - eur-lex.europa.eu; Commission Interpretative Guidelines C/2024/5687, footnote 20 - eur-lex.europa.eu; CJEU C-139/11, Cuadrench Moré - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Treat EU261 as fully in force for a Zurich or Geneva departure; the Agreement changes how it arrived, not whether it applies.

#Which flights does Switzerland’s deadline govern?

Every flight leaving Zurich, Geneva or any other Swiss airport is covered under article 3(1)(a), on any airline. A Swiss-licensed carrier counts as a Community carrier under the Agreement, so its own flights from third countries into the EU or Switzerland are covered too, subject to the same conditions as any Community carrier.

Article 3(1)(a) covers every flight leaving a Swiss airport, whatever the airline. Under the Agreement, a Swiss-licensed carrier is itself a “Community air carrier.” EU261 covers its flights departing Switzerland or the EU, and its flights from third countries into the EU or Switzerland, on the same article 3(1)(b) conditions as any Community carrier.

Whether that same carrier counts as a Community carrier for UK261’s own inbound UK flights is different, and no source we read settles it either way, so this page gives no answer.

Because the Agreement reads “Member States” as including Switzerland, article 16 gives Switzerland’s enforcement body the flights leaving Swiss airports and the covered arrivals from third countries into them.

Source: EU261 art. 3(1)(a)-(b), art. 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu; EU-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement, Annex - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

For an inbound flight to Zurich or Geneva, look up who operated it and where that carrier is licensed before you count on coverage.

#Who handles a complaint in Switzerland, and what comes before court?

2 separate routes exist in Switzerland: FOCA, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, is the enforcement body on the Commission’s list, and before an ordinary Swiss court will hear a claim, civil procedure generally requires a prior conciliation attempt, separate from FOCA’s own administrative complaint route.

FOCA (the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, BAZL) is Switzerland’s National Enforcement Body under article 16, matching the Commission’s own list.

Swiss civil procedure generally requires a different step before an ordinary court will hear the claim: a mandatory conciliation attempt, a Schlichtungsverfahren, separate from FOCA’s own route. That requirement is taken from the Basel-Stadt ruling’s own text; we did not read the procedure code itself.

A FOCA complaint is not the conciliation step a court requires. No source we hold says either one pauses the two-year LTrV period, so plan as though neither does.

Source: EU261 art. 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu; FOCA, passenger rights - bazl.admin.ch; European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies (updated 27 August 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-18.

Ask FOCA about the complaint route, and a Swiss lawyer about the conciliation step, before assuming either alone protects your two-year deadline.

#What to do before the deadline runs out

2 years, counted from arrival, expected arrival or interruption under LTrV article 14, is the date to diary in Switzerland. Write to the airline first. Then treat FOCA’s complaint route and the conciliation request that Swiss civil procedure generally requires before court as two separate tracks.

The written claim gives the flight number and date, what went wrong, and the amount you ask for under EU261. Keep the dated copy. If the airline refuses or does not answer, you have two different doors: FOCA’s complaint route is administrative, while the conciliation request is the first step toward an ordinary court, and it is the one that matters if the two-year date is close.

The ten years in article 127 of the Code of Obligations are not a safe assumption, because the only court found to have ruled, in Basel-Stadt, applied the two years and held the claim time-barred. If SWISS operated your flight, the SWISS page covers its claims route. The Montreal Convention two-year page deals with article 35 of that Convention, a different rule from LTrV article 14 that happens to share its length, so do not merge the two. If the route itself is unclear, work out which law covers your flight; flight compensation time limits sets Switzerland beside every other country.

General information about EU261 claims in Switzerland, not legal advice. For your specific case: FOCA or a lawyer in Switzerland.

Write to the airline now and count two years, not ten.

#Sources

• Code of Obligations (OR), art. 127 - fedlex.admin.ch, checked 2026-09-18.
• Lufttransportverordnung (LTrV, SR 748.411), art. 14 - fedlex.admin.ch, checked 2026-09-18.
• Appellationsgericht Basel-Stadt, BEZ.2016.3 (29 June 2016) - entscheidsuche.ch, checked 2026-09-18.
• EU-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement, Annex, consolidated 15 July 2023 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• European Commission, Interpretative Guidelines C/2024/5687 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• CJEU C-139/11, Cuadrench Moré - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 3, 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• FOCA/BAZL, passenger rights - bazl.admin.ch, checked 2026-09-18.
• European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 27 August 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

Does EU261 apply to flights from Zurich or Geneva?

Yes. Regulation 261/2004 applies in Switzerland through the 1999 EU-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement, although Switzerland is outside both the EU and the EEA. Every flight leaving Zurich, Geneva or another Swiss airport is covered under article 3(1)(a), whatever the airline, and Swiss law then sets the deadline.

Do I need a conciliation attempt before suing an airline in Switzerland?

Generally yes: Swiss civil procedure requires a conciliation attempt, the Schlichtungsverfahren, before an ordinary court will hear the claim, as the 2016 Basel-Stadt ruling records. It is separate from FOCA's administrative complaint route. Ask a lawyer in Switzerland how it applies to your case, and start it inside two years.

Does SWISS count as an EU airline for compensation?

For EU261, a carrier licensed in Switzerland counts as a Community air carrier under the 1999 Air Transport Agreement. The Swiss list we read confirms SWISS's air operator certificate, not its operating licence, so its inbound coverage rests on that condition. Whether SWISS counts for UK261 inbound flights is not settled by any source read.