The airline rejected my EU261 claim: what to do next

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If an airline rejects an EU261 claim, the rejection does not automatically mean the passenger is ineligible: the next step depends on the airline's stated reason, the flight circumstances, the applicable regulation and whether the airline belongs to an ADR scheme. A refusal is a position, not a decision. Airlines answer most claims with one of four templates — extraordinary circumstances, a disputed delay length, a scope argument, or vouchers instead of money — and each has a specific reply. Answer once in writing, ask for the facts the airline relies on, and if the answer does not change, refer the case to the ADR scheme or the national enforcement body for free.

The airline rejected your claim: what decides the next step

Was the flight covered by EU261, UK261 or the Swiss rules?

Art. 3: any departure from the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland; an arrival there from outside only on a carrier licensed there

Yes
Did the arrival delay reach three hours, was the cancellation announced less than 14 days ahead, or were you denied boarding against your will?
Arts. 4, 5(1)(c), 6 and 7; Sturgeon (C-402/07); arrival = doors open at the final destination (C-452/13)
- Yes
  Did the airline claim extraordinary circumstances?
  Art. 5(3): the airline must prove the circumstance and that all reasonable measures could not have avoided it
  - Yes
    Does the airline show a record for your flight — and is the cause one that can be extraordinary?
    Technical faults, crew shortages and the airline's own strikes are not (van der Lans C-257/14, Airhelp v SAS C-28/20); ATC, severe weather and bird strikes can be
    Yes
    Check: The rejection may be valid. Check the record covers your flight at the time it was due; care and refund rights survive. Test the airline's reason
    No
    Pursue: The burden of proof is not discharged: ask for the record, then escalate to the ADR scheme or the enforcement body. Check your case
  - No
    Is the airline a member of an ADR scheme for this flight?
    The dispute-body registry; membership is per airline and per country
    Yes
    Pursue: Reply once with a 14-day deadline, then refer the case to the scheme — free for passengers. ADR schemes and members
    No
    Pursue: Complain to the enforcement body of the departure country; the small-claims court is the route that orders payment. ADR, enforcement body or court
- No
  Stop here: Fixed compensation is unlikely; care (meals, hotel) and a refund or re-routing may still be due.
- Not sure
  Check: Establish the arrival time at the final destination or the date you were told of the cancellation — the refusal often turns on it. Check your case
No
Stop here: Fixed compensation does not apply. The Montreal Convention (proven damage) and the airline's own conditions are the remaining routes.
Not sure
Check: Check the departure airport and the operating airline on the boarding pass — they decide the regime. Check your case

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Read the refusal for what it actually says

Airlines reply with templates. Before you respond, identify which of the four you received, because the answer to each is different:

“Extraordinary circumstances” — weather, ATC, strike, security, bird strike, or an unexplained “operational reasons”. The airline is invoking Article 5(3). It has the burden of proving both the circumstance and that it took all reasonable measures. A template that names no specific cause has proven nothing yet.
“The delay was under three hours” — a dispute about the arrival time. The moment that counts is when the first door opened at your final destination (Germanwings v Henning), not touchdown and not the scheduled time on the screen.
“Your flight is not covered” — a scope argument: a non-EU airline into the EU, a flight the airline says was operated by someone else, or a connection on separate tickets. Sometimes right, often not: departures from the EU/EEA are covered on any airline, and a single booking through a hub is one journey (Folkerts).
Vouchers, points or a partial amount — an offer, not a refusal. Compensation under Article 7 is paid in money; you only accept another form if you sign for it (voucher offers).

Reply once, in writing, with questions

Write back within a couple of weeks, quoting the airline’s reference. Do not argue in general terms — ask for the facts:

Which specific circumstance affected flight [number] on [date], at what time, and where is it recorded?
Did other flights operate from the same airport in the same period?
What measures did the airline take to avoid the delay or cancellation, and why could you not be re-routed sooner?
For a “late inbound aircraft”: what was the original cause on the earlier sector?
For a disputed delay: what was the time at which the doors opened at [final destination]?

State that the burden of proof is the airline’s under Article 5(3) as interpreted in Wallentin-Hermann, that technical problems are inherent in the airline’s activity (van der Lans), and that its own staff’s strike is not extraordinary (Airhelp v SAS). Give a deadline of 14 days after which you will escalate. Keep everything dated.

If the answer does not change: escalate for free

ADR scheme — where the airline is a member (AviationADR or CEDR in the UK, the Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr (formerly söp) in Germany, MTV in France, AESA’s binding procedure in Spain, apf in Austria; the Netherlands has none for standalone flights). Decisions of the binding schemes bind the airline; these schemes are free for passengers. Refer after the airline’s final response or its waiting period (8 weeks in the UK, one to two months elsewhere).
National enforcement body — the authority of the country of departure (or of arrival for inbound EU-carrier flights). It assesses the complaint and can sanction the airline; in most countries it does not order payment, but its assessment carries weight if you go to court.
Court — small-claims procedures in every country, and the European Small Claims Procedure for cross-border claims up to €5,000 with a form and no lawyer. Check the limitation period for the departure country first.

What not to do

Do not accept a voucher “to close the matter” unless you want the voucher more than the money. Do not sign a form that waives further claims. Do not let the file go quiet — a dated reminder every few weeks is what keeps the airline’s own deadlines running against it.

When the airline is right

A refusal can be correct: a delay of 2 h 55, a cancellation announced 20 days ahead, a non-EU airline flying you into Europe, or a genuine ATC strike with no re-routing available — the full list of lawful grounds is short. Horvera’s free rejected-claim check tells you which of these applies before you spend time on an escalation that cannot succeed — and it also tells you when refund, re-routing and care rights survive even if fixed compensation does not.

Los motivos que dan las aerolíneas, y lo que vale cada uno

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.

Qué pedir a la aerolínea, por escrito

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?

Cuándo este motivo se sostiene

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.

Siguiente paso

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 says the delay was under three hours

A dispute about the arrival time. The moment that counts is when at least one aircraft door opened at your final destination (Germanwings v Henning), compared with the scheduled arrival on the booking — not touchdown, not the departure delay, not the time on the screen.

Qué pedir a la aerolínea, por escrito

What time does the airline say the doors opened at [final destination], and what is that based on?
What was the scheduled arrival time on the booking as originally issued?
For a connection on one booking: was the delay measured at the final destination rather than at the hub?

Cuándo este motivo se sostiene

It holds when the doors genuinely opened less than three hours after the scheduled arrival: a 2 h 55 arrival delay carries no fixed compensation, although care and expenses may still be due. It does not hold when the airline measured touchdown, the departure, or the wrong leg.

Siguiente paso

Compare the airline's figure with your own evidence — a photo of the arrivals board, a timestamped message, flight-tracking history. If your figure is three hours or more, reply with it and escalate; if it is under three hours, claim the care and expenses you paid for instead.

Airline says your flight is outside EU261

A scope argument under Article 3: the airline says the flight departed outside the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland on a non-European airline, or that the regime does not reach it. Sometimes right — often not: every departure from Europe is covered whatever the airline, and inbound flights are covered on EU, EEA, UK and Swiss carriers.

Qué pedir a la aerolínea, por escrito

Which airport does the airline say the flight departed from, and which airline actually operated it (the boarding pass, not the ticket)?
For a connection on one booking: did the journey as a whole start in Europe?

Cuándo este motivo se sostiene

It holds for a third-country airline flying you into Europe from outside it (Dubai to Manchester on Emirates), or for a flight entirely outside Europe. It does not hold for any departure from a European airport, for an EU/UK/Swiss carrier inbound, or for a connection that began in Europe on one booking (Folkerts).

Siguiente paso

Check the operating carrier and the departure airport against the rules; if the flight is within scope, reply citing Article 3 and escalate; if it is genuinely outside, the Montreal Convention and the airline's conditions are the remaining routes.

Airline says it was not responsible

Usually one of three things: "we did not operate the flight" (a partner or wet-lease airline did), "the delay came from an earlier flight" (a knock-on), or "the airport / handler / ATC caused it". Only the operating carrier owes compensation — but the operating carrier cannot pass a knock-on delay or its own contractor's failure to someone else.

Qué pedir a la aerolínea, por escrito

Which airline operated the aircraft, as shown on the boarding pass?
For a knock-on delay: what caused the first delay in the rotation, and was that cause extraordinary?
For a contractor (ground handler, de-icing company): was it working for the airline?

Cuándo este motivo se sostiene

It holds when another airline genuinely operated the flight — claim from that airline instead. It does not hold for a late inbound aircraft whose original delay was operational, or for a handler the airline itself engaged.

Siguiente paso

Confirm the operating carrier from the boarding pass; re-address the claim if it was the wrong airline, otherwise reply asking for the root cause of the first delay and escalate.

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.

Qué pedir a la aerolínea, por escrito

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)?

Cuándo este motivo se sostiene

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.

Siguiente paso

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.

Fuentes

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 UnionCase C-11/11 Air France v Folkerts — compensation for connecting flights depends on the delay at the final destination
Court of Justice of the European UnionJoined Cases C-195/17 etc. Krüsemann v TUIfly — a "wildcat strike" by airline staff is not an extraordinary circumstance
Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-315/15 Pešková and Peška v Travel Service — a collision with a bird is an extraordinary circumstance
Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-257/14 van der Lans v KLM — spontaneous technical failure is inherent in the normal exercise of the activity
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 Commission — DG MOVEHow to complain: contact the airline first, then the National Enforcement Body of the country of departure (or arrival for inbound EU-carrier flights)
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
UK Civil Aviation AuthorityAlternative dispute resolution (ADR) for aviation complaints

Última revisión legal: 18 de septiembre de 2026 · Contenido actualizado: 18 de septiembre de 2026

Deje que Horvera revise por qué rechazaron su reclamación.

Indique el vuelo y el motivo que dio la aerolínea. La comprobación gratuita le dice si correspondía compensación, el importe y la vía de reclamación de su país de salida.

Revisar mi reclamación rechazada