Compensation claim for a delayed or cancelled flight or denied boarding (France)
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This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For a passenger whose flight departing from the EU, or arriving in the EU on an EU airline, arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled less than fourteen days before departure, or who was denied boarding. You ask the airline for the flat-rate compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, and for your expenses. Without a satisfactory answer, mediation has been compulsory before going to a French court since 7 February 2026. The airline's online form works too. In French.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- Your flight from or to France arrived hours late and you want compensation from the airline.
- The airline cancelled your flight shortly before departure and offered you nothing.
- You were refused boarding because the flight was overbooked.
- You want to claim compensation and your extra expenses from the airline in writing.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Passenger
- Passenger's address
- Airline
- Airline's postal address (customer service)
- City
- Date
- Booking reference
- Flight number
- Date of the flight
- Departure airport
- Destination airport
- Passengers concerned (name of each)
- What happened to the flight
- Compensation per passenger in euros (by distance)
- Total claimed in euros (figures only)
- Costs and damage claimed (items and amounts, or “none”)
- IBAN
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Which flights give a right to compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004?
- All flights departing from an EU airport, whatever the airline, and flights to the EU operated by an EU airline (Article 3 of the Regulation). Compensation is due for denied boarding, a cancellation announced less than fourteen days before departure, or an arrival three hours or more late, unless there were extraordinary circumstances. For a cancellation, it is not due if the airline offered rerouting close to the original times (Article 5(1)), and it can be halved if rerouting arrives with only a limited delay (Article 7(2)).
- What next if the airline refuses or ignores the compensation claim in France?
- Go to the Médiateur Tourisme et Voyage, free of charge and online, within a year of your written complaint to the airline. Since 7 February 2026, this attempt at mediation has been compulsory before going to court over a dispute under Regulation No 261/2004 (Decree No 2025-772 of 5 August 2025). You can also send a free complaint to France's civil aviation authority (DGAC), which enforces the Regulation but does not pay you the compensation.
- Does the revision of the EU air passenger rules change the amounts in 2026?
- Not yet. Agreement on revising Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 was reached in June 2026, but the revised text does not apply as at the date this document was updated. Until it applies, the 2004 amounts stand: €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance, with the three-hour arrival-delay threshold set by the Court of Justice. This document will be reviewed when the revision takes effect.
How you can sign this document
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