Indemnisation vol retardé Air France

Air France delays: what is specific

Air France is a French (EU) carrier: EU261 covers every Air France departure and every Air France flight into the EU, including from North America, Africa and Asia. Long-haul delays into or out of Paris pay €600 per passenger from 4 hours of arrival delay (€300 between 3 and 4 hours); on a single-ticket connection through Charles de Gaulle the delay at your final destination and the distance of the whole journey count.

French air-traffic-control strikes are Air France’s most frequent defence and are generally extraordinary — but only for flights actually restricted. Ask for the specific ATC restriction and the flights that did operate that day. Domestic and regional flights may be operated by Air France HOP under AF numbers, with identical rights. Flights to Réunion, Guadeloupe and Martinique count as intra-EU for the distance band (outermost regions), which caps the amount at €400.

Air France belongs to the Médiation Tourisme et Voyage (MTV) scheme, free for passengers, which is the escalation step if Air France refuses.

How the 3 hours are measured on Air France flights

The delay that counts is the arrival delay at your final destination, measured when at least one aircraft door opens — not the departure delay, the touchdown time or the block-on time. Compare it with the scheduled arrival on your booking. A Air France flight that leaves 3 hours 30 late but makes up time to arrive 2 hours 50 late is not compensable; one that leaves on time and arrives 3 hours late is.

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.

How much Air France owes for a delay

Under EU261 the amount depends only on the great-circle distance of the flight (or of the whole journey on a single booking), never on the ticket price: €250, €400 or €600 per passenger. On flights over 3,500 km Air France may halve the amount (€300 instead of €600) when the arrival delay is between 3 and 4 hours; from 4 hours the full amount applies. The table above shows the amounts on Air France’s typical routes.

Care while you wait

From 2 hours of delay (short flights), 3 hours (medium) or 4 hours (long) Air France must offer meals and refreshments in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or e-mails, and a hotel with transport if you are kept overnight. If it does not, keep receipts for reasonable expenses and claim them separately — they come on top of the fixed compensation. After 5 hours you may also abandon the trip and claim a full refund of the unused ticket.

What Air France may argue

Only extraordinary circumstances exempt Air France from paying: severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions or strikes, security incidents, bird strikes, external strikes. Technical faults, crew shortages, late inbound aircraft from an earlier rotation and Air France’s own staff strikes are not extraordinary. The burden of proof is on Air France: ask for the precise cause of your flight’s delay and the measures it took, and treat a bare “operational reasons” as no answer.

How to claim a delay from Air France

1. Note the actual arrival time (arrivals board, flight-tracker screenshot, Air France’s own notification).
2. Ask Air France in writing for the reason for the delay.
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, quoting the booking reference, the flight, the date, the arrival delay and the amount per passenger.
4. If Air France refuses or does not reply within 8 weeks, escalate to Médiation Tourisme et Voyage (MTV); a court claim remains available within the limitation period of the departure country.