Refunds, Reimbursement, and Compensation: Air France

While airlines like Air France make every effort to stick to their advertised schedules, flight delays do happen. The good news for travelers is that air passenger rights exist to protect you and your journey when you get caught up in Air France flight delays.

Under an EU law known as EC 261, if an airline causes passengers to arrive at their destination 3 or more hours late, those passengers could get up to US$700 in compensation.

There are some extraordinary circumstances which may excuse airlines from paying compensation. Those include situations like bad weather or issues at the airport. But if the delay is a result of technical issues or an airline staff strike, you're likely to be owed compensation under EC 261.

What's more, you generally have up to 3 years to claim with Air France and get your flight delay compensation. All you have to do is type in your flight details and our easy-to-use flight delay compensation calculator will tell you if you are eligible for cash compensation, and our expert team are on hand to help you get it.

In the event your Air France flight is canceled, Europe's air passenger rights are clear: Air France must offer you an alternative transport to your destination, or a full flight refund if that's what you'd prefer.

In addition, if you were told about the cancellation less than 14 days before you were due to depart you may also be able to claim up to US$700 per person in compensation.

Generally speaking, when Air France cancels flights, they'll attempt to rebook passengers straight away onto another flight at no additional charge. You can request further changes if the alternative flight doesn’t work for you, or reimbursement if you no longer wish to travel that route.

If Air France can book you onto a new flight that lands at a similar time to your original they won't have to pay you compensation. This is fair, as you'll get to your destination with minimum disruption to your plans. However in a lot of cases, passengers whose flights are canceled at the last minute have valid claims to Air France canceled flight compensation.

That's unless the cancellation was caused by an event Air France can't be expected to control — something like bad weather conditions, or an incident at the airport. These events are referred to as extraordinary circumstances.

You can learn more about flight cancellation compensation here.

Because Air France has its headquarters within the EU, almost all the flights they offer are protected by EC 261, one of the world's most comprehensive air passenger rights laws.

The EC 261 regulation gives passengers the right to claim for compensation when they have suffered delayed, canceled or overbooked flights, which are no fault of their own. Passengers are also entitled to claim for past flights — often you can still claim for flights in the past 3 years.

Which Air France Flights are Covered by EC 261?

Table shows values in € as specified in EC 261

There are exceptions and special circumstances which may impact how much compensation Air France owes in your case. The easiest way to find out what you’re owed is to use our free compensation check.

Air France, stylized as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance.