EU261 claim letter template: the wording, the articles to cite and how to fill it in

Réponse directe

En bref

Cite Regulation (EC) No 261/2004: Article 7 for the amount, Article 5 (cancellation), Article 4 (denied boarding) or Article 6 with Sturgeon and Nelson (delay), state the distance band and refuse vouchers under Article 7(3).

Montant

€250 – €600per passenger, by distance band

Pourquoi

The Regulation applies to every flight departing the EU/EEA and to arrivals on EU/EEA airlines; naming the article and the band leaves the airline only the extraordinary-circumstances defence, which it must prove.

Ce qui peut changer la réponse

• The flight departed from the UK: use the UK261 template (retained regulation, £ amounts, ADR schemes).
• The airline proves an extraordinary circumstance it could not have avoided.
• The cancellation was announced 14 days or more before departure.
• An intra-EU flight over 3,500 km is capped at €400.

Vérifiez votre vol

Vérifier si EU261 s’applique

Source officielle

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 CouncilDernière vérification à la source le 23 septembre 2026

[Your full name]
[Your postal address]
[Your e-mail address]

[Airline name]
Customer Relations
[Airline postal address]

[Date]

Subject: Claim under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — flight [flight number] on [date] — booking [booking reference]

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to claim compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 for flight [flight number] from [departure airport] to [arrival airport] on [date], operated by [airline], on which I travelled [with (names of other passengers)] under booking reference [booking reference].

[DELAY] The flight arrived at my final destination [X hours Y minutes] after the scheduled arrival time. Under Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the Regulation as interpreted by the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (C-402/07) and Nelson (C-581/10), an arrival delay of three hours or more gives rise to the same fixed compensation as a cancellation.

[CANCELLATION] The flight was cancelled and I was informed [when — e.g. "two days before departure"]. [No alternative flight was offered. / The alternative offered departed [X] hours before and arrived [Y] hours after the original schedule, outside the limits of Article 5(1)(c).] Compensation under Article 7 is therefore due.

[DENIED BOARDING] I held a confirmed reservation and presented myself for check-in on time, but I was denied boarding against my will [because the flight was overbooked]. Under Article 4(3), compensation under Article 7 is due immediately, without any extraordinary-circumstances defence.

[Reason paragraph — delete what does not apply]
[No reason was given for the disruption. / You attributed the disruption to [reason].] Under Article 5(3), as interpreted in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07), the burden of proving that an extraordinary circumstance caused the disruption and that all reasonable measures were taken rests entirely on the operating carrier. [Technical faults, crew problems and strikes by your own staff are not extraordinary circumstances (Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07; van der Lans, C-257/14; Krüsemann, C-195/17; Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20).]

The distance from [departure airport] to [final destination] is [X km], which places the flight in the [first / second / third] band of Article 7(1). The compensation due is therefore [€250 / €400 / €600] per passenger, [€ total] in total for the [N] passengers on the booking.

Please pay the compensation by bank transfer within 14 days of the date of this letter. I do not accept a voucher in place of payment (Article 7(3)). [I also claim reimbursement of the reasonable expenses I incurred because the care required by Article 9 was not provided: [itemised amounts]; receipts are attached.]

If I do not receive a substantive reply within six weeks, I will refer the matter to the national enforcement body under Article 16 and, if necessary, to the courts, without further notice.

Yours faithfully,

[Your full name]

Attachments: booking confirmation, boarding pass, [evidence of the actual arrival time / cancellation notice / statement received at the gate], [receipts].

Les crochets indiquent ce que vous complétez. Supprimez les paragraphes qui ne concernent pas votre vol.