Airline refuses cancellation compensation: notice, re-routing and the refund confusion
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Kurze Antwort
An airline refusing cancellation compensation usually relies on one of four points: it told you 14 days or more ahead; it offered re-routing inside the legal windows; it refunded the ticket; or an extraordinary circumstance. The airline must prove when you were told, a refund is a separate right from compensation, the re-routing windows are narrow and exact, and a flight brought forward by more than an hour is itself a cancellation.
Direct answer
- Short answer
- A cancellation refusal holds only if the airline proves it told you 14 days or more ahead, or offered re-routing inside the exact windows of Article 5(1)(c), or proves an extraordinary circumstance. A refund of the ticket does not replace compensation.
- Amount
- €250–€600 / £220–£520per passenger by distance; may be halved if a re-routing got you there within 2, 3 or 4 hours of schedule
- Why
- Article 5(1)(c) excludes compensation only on the notice-and-re-routing conditions it lists, Article 5(4) puts the proof of notice on the airline, and Articles 7 and 8 are separate rights.
- What can change it
- You were told 14 days or more before departure.
- The re-routing offered fitted the window for the notice you had.
- The airline proves an extraordinary circumstance and that it took all reasonable measures.
- The flight was not covered by the Regulation.
- Check your flight
- Meinen Flug prüfen
- 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
A cancellation claim was refused: does the refusal hold?
Were you told of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure?
Art. 5(1)(c)(i); the airline must prove when and how you were told (Art. 5(4))
- YesStop here: No fixed compensation; a refund or re-routing was still due (Art. 8).
- No
Did the airline offer re-routing inside the legal window?
Art. 5(1)(c)(ii)–(iii): told 7–13 days ahead — depart ≤ 2 h earlier and arrive < 4 h later; told < 7 days ahead — depart ≤ 1 h earlier and arrive < 2 h later
- YesStop here: No fixed compensation on the notice rules. If the re-routing arrived later than the window, the exception does not apply.
- No
Does the airline prove an extraordinary circumstance for the cancellation, and that it could not avoid it?
Art. 5(3)
- YesCheck: The refusal may hold; care and refund rights survive. Test the airline's reason
- NoPursue: Compensation appears due; if the airline re-routed you and you arrived within 2, 3 or 4 hours of schedule, it may be halved (Art. 7(2)). Reply, then escalate. Check your case
- Yes
- Yes
- Not sureCheck: The airline carries the burden of proving the date you were informed — ask it for the notice it relies on.
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The notice rule — and who has to prove it
Compensation for a cancellation is excluded if you were told (Article 5(1)©):
- 14 days or more before the scheduled departure; or
- between 14 and 7 days before, and offered re-routing departing no more than two hours earlier and arriving less than four hours later than scheduled; or
- less than 7 days before, and offered re-routing departing no more than one hour earlier and arriving less than two hours later.
The burden of proving whether and when you were informed is the airline’s (Article 5(4)). Informing your travel agent or tour operator is not enough if the message never reached you in time (Krijgsman, C-302/16). Ask the airline for the notification it relies on, with its date and the address or number it was sent to.
“We offered you another flight”
The re-routing only removes compensation if it fits the window above for the notice you had. A replacement that arrived five hours later after a week’s notice does not. If the re-routing did not fit the window but got you there within two, three or four hours of the original arrival, depending on distance, the amount can be halved (Article 7(2)) — not refused.
“We have already refunded your ticket”
A refund and compensation are two different rights. The refund of the unused ticket (Article 8) replaces what you paid; the fixed compensation (Article 7) is owed on top whenever the notice rules and the cause do not exclude it. A reply that talks only about the refund has not answered the compensation claim.
“The flight was not cancelled, only rescheduled”
A flight brought forward by more than one hour is a cancellation in law (Azurair, C-146/20), and the 50 % reduction cannot be applied to it. A flight moved later is judged as a delay at arrival, unless the airline abandoned the original flight plan — the schedule-change guide sets out how to tell the difference.
Extraordinary circumstances
The airline must prove the circumstance caused the cancellation of your flight and that it could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures (Article 5(3)). Technical faults, crew shortages and the airline’s own strikes do not qualify; severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions and third-party strikes can, with evidence. The extraordinary-circumstances rejection guide tests each reason.
What is owed even when compensation is not
Whatever the notice or the cause: the choice between a refund within seven days and re-routing (Article 8), and meals, hotel and transport while you wait for a re-routing (Article 9). Those are paid in money, not vouchers, unless you sign for a voucher.
Fragen und Antworten
Can an airline refuse cancellation compensation if it refunded my ticket?
No. The refund of the unused ticket (Article 8) and fixed compensation (Article 7) are separate rights. When the cancellation was announced less than 14 days ahead without a re-routing inside the legal window, and no extraordinary circumstance is proven, compensation is owed in addition to the refund.
- Voraussetzungen
- Notice under 14 days, or a re-routing outside the window
- No proven extraordinary circumstance
- Ausnahmen
- A notice of 14 days or more excludes compensation; the refund remains
- Beispiel
A flight cancelled three days before departure, ticket refunded, no alternative offered: €250–€600 compensation is still due on top of the refund.
- Nächster Schritt
- Check whether the airline's rejection is valid
- 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
Who has to prove when I was told about the cancellation?
The airline. Article 5(4) puts the burden of proving whether and when the passenger was informed on the operating carrier, and the Court of Justice has held that informing a travel agent does not discharge it if the passenger was not told in time (Krijgsman).
- Voraussetzungen
- Keep the message you did receive, with its date
- Ausnahmen
- An e-mail to the address you gave at booking, with proof of sending, is usually sufficient for the airline
- Beispiel
An airline says it informed the tour operator 20 days ahead; the passenger learned of it at check-in. Compensation is due unless the airline shows the passenger was informed.
- Nächster Schritt
- Cancellations and your rights
- Official source
- Case C-302/16 Krijgsman v SLM — the operating carrier bears the burden of proving the passenger was informed of the cancellation in time
Die Gründe der Airlines – und was jeder wert ist
Airline says "extraordinary circumstances"
The airline is invoking Article 5(3): it says the cause was outside its control and unavoidable. That is a defence it has to prove for your flight, not a label it can apply to the day.
- Was Sie die Airline schriftlich fragen sollten
- Which specific circumstance affected flight [number] on [date], at what time and at which airport?
- Where is it recorded — a NOTAM, an ATC slot message, a METAR, a strike notice?
- What measures did the airline take to avoid the delay, and why could you not be re-routed sooner?
- Did other flights operate from the same airport in the same period?
- Wann dieser Grund trägt
- It holds when the airline names the event, shows it applied to your flight rather than the schedule in general, and shows that spare aircraft, standby crew or re-routing could not have avoided the delay. A refusal that names nothing has proven nothing.
- Nächster Schritt
- Reply once asking the four questions with a 14-day deadline; if the answer stays generic, refer the case to the ADR scheme or the enforcement body — they apply exactly these tests.
Airline refused without giving a reason
A bare "your claim does not qualify" or "operational reasons" is not a reason. Under Article 5(3) the airline carries the burden of proof; a refusal that names no cause has not begun to discharge it.
- Was Sie die Airline schriftlich fragen sollten
- On what ground exactly is the claim refused — delay length, scope, notice period, or an extraordinary circumstance?
- If an extraordinary circumstance: which one, when, and what is the evidence?
- Wann dieser Grund trägt
- It cannot hold on its own. The airline may have a valid ground it did not state; your reply forces it to state one.
- Nächster Schritt
- Reply once asking for the ground and the evidence with a 14-day deadline; escalate if the answer stays empty — an unreasoned refusal usually fails before an ADR scheme.
Airline gave another reason
Other refusals are usually one of: the cancellation was announced 14 days or more ahead; a replacement flight met the legal time windows; the compensation was already paid; the claim duplicates another; or the airline offers vouchers instead of money. Each has a specific answer, and some are correct.
- Was Sie die Airline schriftlich fragen sollten
- What is the exact ground, in the airline's words?
- For a notice argument: when and how was the cancellation communicated, and to which address?
- For a voucher offer: has the airline been told, in writing, that you want payment under Article 7(3)?
- Wann dieser Grund trägt
- A cancellation notified 14 days or more ahead, a replacement inside the windows, or a payment already made are valid grounds. A voucher offer, a duplicate-claim reply to your own claim, or a reference to the airline's own conditions are not.
- Nächster Schritt
- Identify the ground and answer it once; if it is a voucher, refuse it in writing and ask for the money; if it is a valid ground, the refund, re-routing and care rights may still be worth claiming.
Quellen
- 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
- Court of Justice of the European UnionJoined Cases C-146/20, C-188/20, C-196/20 and C-270/20 Azurair and Others (Corendon Airlines, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines) — a flight brought forward by more than one hour is a cancellation; no 50 % reduction for a brought-forward flight; a tour operator's booking confirmation is a confirmed reservation
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-302/16 Krijgsman v SLM — the operating carrier bears the burden of proving the passenger was informed of the cancellation in time
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia — technical problems are not, as such, extraordinary circumstances
- European CommissionInterpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (2016/C 214/04)
- 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
Letzte rechtliche Prüfung: 23. September 2026 · Inhalt aktualisiert: 23. September 2026
Lassen Sie Horvera prüfen, warum Ihre Forderung abgelehnt wurde.
Geben Sie den Flug und den Grund der Airline ein. Die kostenlose Prüfung sagt Ihnen, ob eine Ausgleichszahlung geschuldet war, wie hoch sie ist und welcher Beschwerdeweg für Ihr Abflugland gilt.