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Air France cancelled flight compensation

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Quick answer

When Air France cancels your flight you always get the choice between a full refund and re-routing, plus meals and a hotel while you wait. Compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger is due on top if Air France told you less than 14 days before departure and did not offer a replacement flight within the legal time windows — unless it proves extraordinary circumstances.

Operating carrier

Air France AF / AFR · France

EU/EEA-licensed carrier — Regulation 261/2004 applies to all its flights departing from the EU/EEA and to its flights into the EU/EEA.

Applicable regimes: Air France HOP, Transavia France

Where to send your claim

Postal address
Air France, Service Client, TSA 21235, 75564 Paris Cedex 12, France
Dispute-resolution scheme
Médiation Tourisme et Voyage (MTV)

Cancellation compensation on typical Air France routes

  • Paris → New York (5,834 km)€600
  • New York → Paris (5,834 km)€600
  • Paris → Amsterdam (399 km)€250
  • Paris → Nice (676 km)€250
  • Paris → Réunion (9,370 km)€400
  • Paris → Athens (2,108 km)€400

Due when {airline} informed you less than 14 days before departure and no replacement flight met the legal time windows.

Direct answer

Short answer
If Air France told you of the cancellation less than 14 days before departure and did not re-route you within the legal windows, EU261 compensation is due per passenger unless Air France proves an extraordinary circumstance.
Amount
€250–€600per passenger on Air France’s typical routes, by distance
Why
Compensation depends on when Air France informed you and what it offered (Article 5); the amount is fixed by distance. Refund or re-routing and care are due whatever the cause.
What can change it
  • You were told 14 days or more before departure: no fixed compensation, but refund or re-routing
  • Air France re-routed you within the legal windows (2 h early / 4 h late with 7–14 days’ notice; 1 h / 2 h under 7 days)
  • Air France proves an extraordinary circumstance for your flight — weather, ATC, a third-party strike — and that it could not avoid the delay
  • Another airline operated the aircraft: the operating carrier owes the compensation, not Air France
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Official source
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights — European Parliament and CouncilLast checked against the source on 23 September 2026

Can Air France passengers claim compensation?

Yes. Air France holds a EU/EEA licence, so Regulation 261 covers its flights departing from the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland and its flights into them: €250–€600 per passenger for an arrival delay of 3 hours or more, a cancellation announced under 14 days ahead, or denied boarding — unless the airline proves an extraordinary circumstance.

Does this apply to your flight?

Air France flight affected?

A few short questions — no flight number needed yet. You get a preliminary result on the facts you give; the full check confirms it from the itinerary.

Already known from this page

  • Air France
  • Cancelled

When were you told about the cancellation?

Air France cancellations: what is specific

During French ATC strikes the DGAC asks airlines to cut a share of flights a day or two ahead; those cancellations are announced inside the 7-day window and are extraordinary only where the cancellation actually results from the ATC instruction — Air France must show that for your flight. Cancellations for Air France crew strikes, technical faults or fleet issues are compensable.

Inside 7 days’ notice, compensation is due unless the replacement flight departed no more than 1 hour early and arrived less than 2 hours late. Air France must offer a refund or re-routing (its rebooking tool usually proposes the next Air France, KLM or partner flight) and care at the airport. Refusals are escalated to MTV, then the DGAC, and finally the tribunal judiciaire within 5 years.

The three questions that decide a Air France cancellation claim

  1. When did Air France tell you? Informed 14 days or more before departure: no compensation, but a refund or re-routing and care. Less than 14 days: compensation is due unless a replacement flight met the windows below or the cause was extraordinary. Air France must prove when and how it informed you — keep its cancellation e-mail or app notification with the timestamp.
  2. What replacement did Air France offer? Between 7 and 14 days’ notice, no compensation if the re-routing departed no more than 2 hours early and arrived less than 4 hours late; under 7 days’ notice the margins shrink to 1 hour early and 2 hours late.
  3. Why was it cancelled? Weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, security and external strikes are extraordinary; Air France’s technical problems, crew shortages, rotation planning and its own staff’s strikes are not.

Domestic and regional flights may be operated by Air France HOP (A5). Check the operating carrier on your boarding pass: the rules follow the airline that flew the aircraft, not the one that sold the ticket.

What you always get, whatever the reason

Compensation may depend on the cause, but three rights never do. Air France must offer you the choice between a full refund of the unused ticket (within 7 days, in cash or bank transfer — a voucher only with your agreement) and re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or on a later date of your choice. While you wait for the re-routing Air France must provide meals, refreshments, two calls or e-mails and, when an overnight stay becomes necessary, a hotel and transport to it. If it leaves you to arrange this yourself, keep receipts and claim the reasonable amounts.

How much Air France owes when compensation is due

€250, €400 or €600 per passenger under EU261, set by the distance of the flight (or of the whole journey on one booking). Air France may halve the long-haul amount to €300 when the replacement flight it offered arrived within the reduction windows (2 hours late for short flights, 3 hours for medium, 4 hours for long).

How to claim a cancellation from Air France

  1. Keep the cancellation notice, the original booking and the details of any replacement flight offered (departure and arrival times).
  2. Ask Air France in writing for the reason for the cancellation.
  3. Submit the claim through Air France’s official channel (https://www.airfrance.fr/information/legal/passenger-rights), or by post to Air France, Service Client, TSA 21235, 75564 Paris Cedex 12, France, stating the notice date, the replacement offered (or not) and the amount per passenger.
  4. If Air France refuses or stalls for 8 weeks, escalate to Médiation Tourisme et Voyage (MTV), then to the courts within the limitation period of the departure country.

Prepare the claim letter

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Frequently asked questions

Do I get compensation if Air France cancelled my flight two weeks in advance?

Not fixed compensation: cancellations announced 14 days or more before departure are exempt. Air France still owes you the choice between a full refund and re-routing, and care if you travel on the replacement flight.

Can Air France give me a voucher instead of a refund?

Only with your written agreement. The refund must be paid in cash, by bank transfer or card within 7 days. You can decline a voucher and insist on money.

Is a strike a valid reason for Air France not to pay?

A strike by Air France's own pilots, cabin crew or ground staff is not an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation is due. Strikes by air-traffic controllers or airport staff outside Air France's control are extraordinary, but the refund, re-routing and care rights still apply.

Air France rebooked me on a flight the next day — is that compensable?

If you were informed less than 7 days before departure, compensation is due unless the replacement departed at most 1 hour early and arrived less than 2 hours late — a next-day flight almost always exceeds that. Air France also owes a hotel and meals for the night.

Sources

  1. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-28/20 Airhelp v Scandinavian Airlines — a strike organised by the airline's own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance
  2. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-559/16 Bossen v Brussels Airlines — the distance is the great-circle distance between the first departure and the final destination
  3. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-11/11 Air France v Folkerts — compensation for connecting flights depends on the delay at the final destination
  4. Court of Justice of the European UnionJoined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 Sturgeon v Condor and Böck v Air France — passengers of flights delayed by three hours or more may claim compensation
  5. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia — technical problems are not, as such, extraordinary circumstances
  6. European CommissionInterpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (2016/C 214/04)
  7. European Parliament and CouncilRegulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights

Last legally reviewed: 12 September 2026 · Content updated: 12 September 2026

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