Free claim template

A flight compensation claim you can copy

Three versions of the same claim, for a delay, a cancellation and denied boarding under EU 261. They are on this page in full. No email address, no account, no fee. Fill in the brackets and send it to the airline from your own email, or paste it into the airline's own form.

Download on the App Store The claim for a delay Check your route

General information, not legal advice. Not a promise of payment.

How to use it

This is the claim AirwayControl writes. It names the regulation, asks for what the rules provide and asks the airline to give its reasons if it says no. It names no sum, because the airline works that out from the distance.

Fill in every bracket. Flight number, date, route, the time you were due to arrive, and your booking reference.
Say what happened in one line. Keep it factual: the time you arrived, or when you were told.
Send it to the airline that operated the flight. The pages by airline say where each one takes a claim.
Keep a copy and your receipts. If the airline says no or does not answer, the complaints body will ask for them.

Delayed flight

For a flight that reached your final destination three hours or more late.

Dear [airline],

I am writing about flight [flight number] on [date], which was delayed. I am claiming the compensation and assistance I am entitled to as a passenger on that flight.

Flight details
Flight number: [flight number]
Date: [date]
Route: [from] to [to]
Scheduled arrival: [time]
Booking reference: [reference]

[What happened: for example, "The flight arrived at [final destination] 3 hours 20 minutes late".]

I understand this flight is covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (Articles 6 and 7), and I am claiming the compensation and any right to care that applies. If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please set out what they were and what measures you took.

Please confirm receipt and let me know the outcome in writing. If you consider that compensation is not due, please tell me the specific reason and the evidence you rely on.

Kind regards,
[your name]

Cancelled flight

For a flight cancelled less than 14 days before departure.

Dear [airline],

I am writing about flight [flight number] on [date], which was cancelled. I am claiming the compensation and assistance I am entitled to as a passenger on that flight.

Flight details
Flight number: [flight number]
Date: [date]
Route: [from] to [to]
Scheduled arrival: [time]
Booking reference: [reference]

[What happened: for example, "I was told of the cancellation on [date], and reached [final destination] on [date and time]".]

I understand this flight is covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (Articles 5 and 7), and I am claiming the compensation and any right to care that applies. If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please set out what they were and what measures you took.

Please confirm receipt and let me know the outcome in writing. If you consider that compensation is not due, please tell me the specific reason and the evidence you rely on.

Kind regards,
[your name]

Denied boarding

For a flight that left without you against your will, for example because it was overbooked.

Dear [airline],

I am writing about flight [flight number] on [date], on which I was denied boarding. I am claiming the compensation and assistance I am entitled to as a passenger on that flight.

Flight details
Flight number: [flight number]
Date: [date]
Route: [from] to [to]
Scheduled arrival: [time]
Booking reference: [reference]

[What happened: for example, "I presented myself for boarding on time and was not allowed on the flight because it was overbooked".]

I understand this flight is covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (Articles 4 and 7), and I am claiming the compensation and any right to care that applies. If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please set out what they were and what measures you took.

Please confirm receipt and let me know the outcome in writing. If you consider that compensation is not due, please tell me the specific reason and the evidence you rely on.

Kind regards,
[your name]

For a flight from the United Kingdom, replace the paragraph that names the regulation with the one AirwayControl uses for UK 261: I understand this flight is covered by the UK version of Regulation 261/2004, and I am claiming the compensation and any right to care that applies. If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please set out what they were and what measures you took.

AirwayControl

Or let the app fill it in.

AirwayControl is a flight tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch. Set your flight before you leave, and it follows the day for you. If the day goes wrong, it already knows the details the claim needs.

It tells you when it matters. A notification when your flight lands three hours late or more.
It knows which rules cover your route. EU 261, UK 261 and the rules of 18 more countries, in plain words.
It fills in the claim. Airline, flight number, date and route come from My Flight.
You send it. From your own email, or through the airline's own claim form with every answer ready to copy.
No fee and no share. AirwayControl never takes a part of what you receive.

Download on the App Store

7 days free, then 29 NOK a month.

Questions people ask

Do I need a claims company to send this?

No. You can send the claim yourself, from your own email or through the airline's own form, and what the airline pays is yours. A claims company is paid with a share of what you receive.

Should I name an amount in the claim?

The claim names no sum, because the airline works it out from the distance of the flight. Under EU 261 the amounts are €250, €400 or €600.

Where do I send it?

To the airline that operated the flight, which may not be the one you booked with. The pages by airline on the main guide say where each one takes a claim.

What if the airline says no or does not answer?

Take it to the complaints body in the country you departed from, with a copy of your claim and the airline's answer.

Is AirwayControl a claims company?

No. It tells you which rules cover your route and writes the claim, and you send it from your own email. AirwayControl never sends or handles a claim for you, and takes no share.