Indemnisation vol annulé Air France

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.