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Submitting claims

  • How do I update my personal data?

    You can update your personal data by contacting us via our Live Chat, where our customer support agents will be happy to assist you and update your data as requested.

  • What does it mean that my claim got reopened?

    If we don’t receive the required documentation to proceed further with your claim, we have to close it. However, it can be reopened anytime after the missing documents are submitted so that we can continue working on securing your compensation.

  • How do I unsubscribe?

    You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of each email that you receive from us. Unfortunately, we can’t unsubscribe you from receiving our transactional emails — these emails are related to your current claim and we use them to update you on your claim progress. You will stop receiving these emails when the processing of your claim comes to an end.

  • Is there a time limit in which to file a claim for a disrupted flight?

    EU regulations don’t set any time limits for submitting a claim or for initiating legal proceedings if they are necessary. However, such time limits, known as the Statute of Limitations, vary across each EU member state. You can check the time limitations for each EU country here.

  • Can I claim any extra expenses (hotel, new ticket, food, taxi, etc.) that resulted from a flight disruption?

    Currently, AirHelp provides assistance with flight disruption compensation covered by EC 261. However, we plan to expand our services to cover claiming for additional expenses incurred due to a flight disruption in the near future.

  • My claim has been closed as a duplicate - what does that mean?

    It simply means that our system has detected that you have two claims submitted for the same flight disruption and that the recently submitted claim will, therefore, be closed as a duplicate. But don’t worry — we will still continue working on securing your compensation under your previously submitted claim. Please note, submitting multiple claims for the same flight will not speed up the processing time or allow you to receive compensation quicker.

  • How do I submit a claim to AirHelp?

    You can submit a claim via our website —  just enter your flight and passenger information and follow the claim submission steps. It only takes a few minutes —  you can then sit back, relax, and let us do all the work towards securing your compensation.

  • I was traveling with other passengers - do I need to submit a separate claim for each?

    At AirHelp, we are keen on making the claim submission process as simple and easy as possible. If you were traveling in a group you can submit a single claim for all of you, as long as everyone is able to provide us with the required documents.

  • If my case goes to court - will that affect my legal status or require my physical presence before the court?

    Filing a legal case against an airline won’t have any effect on your legal status, regardless of the result. All of these cases fall under the civil code and, therefore, won’t require your physical presence before the court. AirHelp will take care of the whole process for you once you have provided us with the required documents.

  • Will filing a case against the airline affect my ability to travel with them or other airlines in the future?

    Absolutely not! Filing a legal case against the airline won’t have any effect on your freedom to travel with them or any other airlines in the future.

  • Why was my claim rejected by your lawyers?

    Our legal team assesses the claim from a legal perspective and sometimes they may find that the claim doesn’t make a strong enough case in court. This could be due to a variety of factors: a lack of essential documentation, that the airline was not at fault for the flight disruption, or that the airline managed to take proper measures to control the situation.

  • I forgot my password, how can I access my account?

    You can easily reset your password by taking the following steps:

    1. Go to the login page.
    2. Click on the green “Reset it now” link located next to “Forgot Your Password?”.
    3. Enter the email address associated with your account.
    4. Open your email, where you will get a link to reset your password so that you can create a new one.

    If you haven’t received the password reset email, please make sure to double check your spam/ junk folder.

  • I received a voucher/air miles from the airline, am I still entitled to compensation?

    This depends on the paperwork you signed at the time of your disruption. If the airline offered you vouchers or air miles that you weren’t required to sign for, then you are still entitled to compensation. However, be aware that airlines sometimes offer a voucher along with a waiver to sign. This often states that passengers forfeit their right to compensation.

    We encourage all passengers to carefully read the paperwork they are given from the airline and pay special attention to the fine print at the time of disruption and after.

  • Are there any extra costs in case of legal action?

    AirHelp operates on a “no win, no fee” basis, which means we promise to never charge you any advanced payment even if your claim goes to court. We will take care of all the legal proceedings and cover all the incurred costs including lawyers and court fees.

    Only when our efforts are successful and we win your court case, we will charge a legal action fee to cover the additional work involved in taking the case to court. Both the legal action fee and service fee will be deducted from the obtained compensation. However, AirHelp will never charge you more than 50% of your total compensation to cover our legal action and service fees.

    If you want to learn more about our fee structure, visit our Price List.

  • What should I do if the airline contacts me personally after I have filed a claim with AirHelp?

    Some airlines will contact you as soon as they receive the claim from us. They typically do this to persuade you to accept a reduced sum of money, or offer you other forms of compensation rather than cash. If this is the case, please get in touch with us via our Contact Form or Live Chat, so our claim experts can direct you. Please keep in mind that such an offer is evidence of the airline’s liability – it’s actually a good sign that we’ll be able to get you the full compensation you lawfully deserve.

  • How can I check the status of my claim?

    You can check the status of your claim anytime in the Claims & Flights tab of your Customer Dashboard.

    We will also keep you regularly updated regarding your claim’s progress via email.

    Don’t worry if your claim’s status hasn’t updated for a while. Some stages take longer than others, but this doesn’t mean that we aren’t taking care of your claim or following up on it regularly.

  • What happens when the airline is not responsive at all?

    If the airline doesn’t respond to us within 3 months regarding your claim, we hand it over to our Legal Team to start legal proceedings. They, in turn, contact the National Enforcement Body in your specific country. Depending on your claims’ specific circumstance, they may then take the airline to court.

  • Am I entitled to both a refund and compensation?

    There are a couple of eligibility questions we’d need to check out, but in theory, yes! Passengers can receive both a refund of an airline ticket AND compensation for flight disruption.

    The most common situation is if your flight was canceled less than 14 days before departure. The airline will typically offer you an alternative flight, but if the flight times are too different you can opt for reimbursement of your flight – and you’re entitled to compensation too.

    The same applies if you have been denied boarding. You will be offered an alternative flight and compensation, but you can opt for reimbursement and compensation if you prefer.

    However, please be aware that in order to receive the refund, some airlines ask you to sign a waiver which may include a forfeiture of compensation clause, so please make sure to read the fine print carefully before you sign!

  • What happens when the airline wrongfully rejects my claim for compensation?

    We would like to assure you that we don’t depend on the airline’s statement, as we have access to our independent systems to confirm each flight’s eligibility. If your flight is eligible for compensation and the airline refuses to pay your compensation, we hand your claim over to our Legal Team. They will look at what action we can take to make the airline pay the compensation they owe.

  • Do airlines always give a reason for rejecting a claim?

    Unfortunately, they don’t. If the airline fails to provide a reason for the rejection, we treat the claim as if they did not answer at all and hand it over to our lawyers for a legal assessment. In some cases, it’s not possible to file lawsuits, in which case the final option is to contact the National Enforcement Body in your specific country.

  • Why did the airline reduce my compensation by 50%?

    In accordance with EU regulations, airlines can reduce the compensation amount by half in one specific situation: if they offered you an alternative, “re-routed” flight to your final destination, which arrived within a couple of hours of your original flight.

    The exact time frame that the alternative flight must arrive in depends on the flight’s distance:

    DistanceRe-routed flight arrival time:
    All flights under 1,500 kmUnder 2 hours
    Flights within the EU over 1,500 km

    Flights outside the EU between 1,500 km – 3,500 km

    		Under 3 hours
    Flights outside the EU over 3,500 kmUnder 4 hours

    If the re-routed flight arrived within the time frames above, the airline has the right to reduce the compensation owed by 50%

  • How do I reset my password?

    If you have forgotten your password, and cannot log in to your account, please use the reset password link. You will be asked to enter the email address associated with your AirHelp Account so we can send you an email with the password reset instructions.

  • How can I contact AirHelp?

    If you’ve got a question for AirHelp you should first check if we have it covered here in our Help section.

    Here are the answers to our most common questions:

    What are your fees?

    Why does it take so long?

    How and when will I receive my compensation?

    Or simply type your question into the search box.

    If you have an existing claim with AirHelp:

    For specific questions regarding your claim status, you can use our Contact Form after logging in to your AirHelp account, or chat to our claim experts via our Live Chat.

  • Why was my claim rejected due to weather conditions when the weather was nice?

    We understand how this could be confusing. However, you must remember that the bad weather can occur all along the route, not just at the departure airport. Adverse weather conditions and poor visibility along the flight path are treated very seriously due to their impact on air passenger safety.

    We would like to assure you that we don’t depend on the airline’s statement when it comes to weather conditions.  We have our independent systems to confirm there were adverse conditions and we assess each and every claim individually.

    Adverse weather conditions are considered “extraordinary events” because they are beyond the airline’s control. As such, these claims are not eligible for compensation under the law, therefore, we cannot take these types of cases to court.

  • Why aren't you answering me?

    Flight disruptions have always been complex issues and we are ready to take them on. However, as more and more people find out about their rights and want to exercise them, we are experiencing an increasingly high number of claims each year.

    Our agents work tirelessly to fight for passenger rights and process as many claims as humanly possible. However, due to the high volume, this may sometimes mean a delay in our response time to your queries. Not to worry though – if you need immediate assistance, you can always contact our helpful claim experts via our Live Chat

    We are always happy to help.

  • I was traveling with some friends and they’ve already received their compensation. Why haven't I received mine yet?

    There’s nothing to worry about! While we handle claims in the order they were submitted, the airline isn’t obliged to process them in the same order, which may result in situations like this. Please be assured that your claim is being handled by our professional teams and that we are determined to pursue your compensation. We’ll contact you as soon as we have an update.

  • Why does it take so long to get compensation?

    While we put all our efforts into making the claim process as short as possible, the process does involve some third parties who we need to coordinate with, such as airlines and aviation authorities. Some have quick processing and response times, others take a bit longer. Rest assured we push them to respond as fast as they can.

    Additionally, during busy holiday seasons, the claims volume is much higher, which can affect the processing times for all parties involved.

  • How do I cancel my claim?

    Once a claim is submitted to us, our Terms and Conditions specify that you are allowed to cancel your claim within 14 days. Due to the nature of our service, you cannot cancel your claim with us if we have already informed you that the airline has agreed to compensate you. Please check our Terms and Conditions to find out more.

    As we have a great track record of handling claims on behalf of passengers and getting airlines to pay what they owe, we will always recommend that you let us handle your case on your behalf. You’ll have the peace of mind that your claim is being handled by professionals, and we’ll do all the hard work for you.

  • How long does a claim take?

    The claim handling process depends on several factors, such as the documentation available to prove your case, the third parties involved, and how quickly they respond to our communications – even the time of year has an impact. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate a time frame for a specific claim.

    However, from our experience, the vast majority of the claims come to an end within 3-4 months. Some cases, including claims that go through legal proceedings, may take longer to be resolved.

    While we cannot guarantee how long your particular case will take, we do guarantee that we treat each case individually, ensuring we give it the attention it deserves.

  • How do I use AirHelp?

    Simply go to our website and fill out your claim details here. You will then be guided through a claim submission where you will input your personal details, as well as details of your disrupted flight. In case you get stuck at any point or have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly Customer Support via Live Chat. We’re always happy to help!

     

  • My type of flight disruption isn’t listed on your website - can I file a claim?

    Currently, AirHelp primarily assists passengers under EU regulation EC 261 which covers 3 types of flight disruption: flight delay, cancellation, and denied boarding.

    If you think your flight disruption is not covered under one of these, we encourage you to contact us via our Live Chat. Our Customer Service agents will be happy to assist you and answer all your questions.  

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