Art 5
Your flight was cancelled
A cancellation splits into two separate rights that airlines love to blur: the money back, and the compensation on top.
The short answer
Compensation is due unless the airline gave 14+ days' notice or can prove extraordinary circumstances. A refund or re-route is always owed.
The one thing to know: Fourteen days' notice removes the compensation, never the refund. If they cancelled with less warning and the cause was theirs, you are owed both.
How it actually works
- The 14-day rule
- Told 14 days or more ahead: no compensation, but you still choose a refund or a re-route. Told less than 14 days ahead: compensation is likely due, and the exact position depends on the alternative flight they offered.
- Refund or re-routing is absolute
- Under Article 8 the choice is yours — your money back within seven days, or a new flight. A voucher is not a refund unless you accept one.
- Beware the blur
- Airlines often answer a compensation claim by pointing at the refund they gave. A refund is Article 8. Compensation is Article 7. One does not discharge the other.
Claiming yourself is free and keeps the whole amount. On European short-haul, Compensair is the cheaper service if you hit a wall.
What to do now
- Photograph the evidence — the departure board, the app before it updates, the arrival time when the door opens. The full checklist →
- Write to the airline, quoting the article and the flight. Use the template →
- Give them 28 days, then escalate free to the national enforcement body.
- Check your time limit — it ranges from one year to six by country. See yours →
Questions
Your flight was cancelled: am I owed compensation?
Compensation is due unless the airline gave 14+ days' notice or can prove extraordinary circumstances. A refund or re-route is always owed.
How do I claim it?
Write to the airline first, quoting the article and flight, and allow 28 days. It is free and you keep the whole amount. Escalate to the national enforcement body if refused.