Air France Flight Delay Compensation — Up to €600, 5 Years to Claim
Air France (IATA: AF) is France's flag carrier and part of the Air France-KLM group. As a French EU-registered airline, EU Regulation 261/2004 applies to all Air France flights — in both directions, including return flights from New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo or São Paulo back to Paris. French law also gives you 5 years to file a claim — meaning you can recover compensation for flights back to 2021.
🇫🇷 French passengers: 5-year statute of limitations
France's prescription period for EU261 claims is 5 years under the French Code des transports. If you flew Air France from CDG or ORY between 2021 and today and experienced a delay of 3+ hours or a cancellation, you can still file a claim. UK passengers get 6 years.
Air France EU261 compensation amounts
| Route | Distance | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Paris CDG / ORY → London, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome | Under 1,500 km | €250 |
| Paris CDG → Cairo, Casablanca, Beirut, Tel Aviv | 1,500–3,500 km | €400 |
| Paris CDG → New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, São Paulo | Over 3,500 km | €600 |
| New York → Paris CDG (AF metal) | Over 3,500 km (EU carrier = covered) | €600 |
| Tokyo → Paris CDG (AF metal) | Over 3,500 km (EU carrier = covered) | €600 |
Delays of 3+ hours at your final destination qualify. Cancellations with less than 14 days' notice qualify. For routes over 3,500 km, a delay reduction applies if your delay is between 3–4h — the airline may reduce the €600 amount by 50% to €300. At 4+ hours, full €600 applies.
How long do I have to claim from Air France?
For transatlantic routes, the statute of limitations of the country of departure applies — not France. UK passengers flying LHR–CDG–JFK and arriving 6h late have 6 years to file.
Am I eligible?
How to claim Air France EU261 compensation
- 1
Submit a claim directly to Air France
Use Air France's online claim form. Specify EU Regulation 261/2004, your PNR, flight number, and actual arrival time. Keep a copy of all correspondence — Air France has 30 days to respond under French law.
Air France EU261 claim form → - 2
Escalate to the DGAC (Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile)
If Air France rejects or ignores your claim, file with the DGAC — France's aviation authority. For UK departures, use the UK CAA. For German departures, use the LBA. DGAC investigations can take 3–6 months but are free.
Find your enforcement body → - 3
Use a no-win no-fee service
AirHelp processes Air France EU261 claims with a legal team. Fee: ~25% only on success. Given France's 5-year window, worth checking flights going back to 2021.
Check via AirHelp →
Common Air France refusal tactics
- →"Extraordinary circumstances" for technical failures — most technical issues are NOT extraordinary under EU261 case law; request a written technical report
- →Offering Air France Miles instead of cash — you are entitled to €250/400/600 in euros, not loyalty points
- →Denying responsibility for codeshare partners — if your ticket has an AF flight number but was operated by Delta, AF is still liable as the contractual carrier in some jurisdictions
- →"Your departure was on time, only arrival was delayed" — EU261 uses arrival delay, not departure delay
- →Spain passengers: Air France operates from Madrid and Barcelona with a 1-year deadline — do not wait
Find past Air France delays in your inbox
SubRadar scans your Gmail or Outlook for Air France booking emails and automatically flags disrupted flights within your country's claim window — including transatlantic routes.
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