South African Airways EU261 Compensation — up to €600
South African Airways (IATA: SA) is South Africa's national carrier, operating long-haul routes from London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo (JNB). As a non-EU carrier, EU261 applies when your flight departed from a UK or EU airport — meaning the outbound leg only.
Check your South African Airways flight in 30 seconds — free, no account
What went wrong?
1/4⚠️ EU/UK departures only
EU261 applies
NOT covered
EU261 applies
NOT covered
Compensation — South African Airways routes
| Route (departing EU/UK) | Distance | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| London (LHR) → Johannesburg (JNB) | ~9,000 km | €600 |
| Frankfurt (FRA) → Johannesburg (JNB) | ~9,700 km | €600 |
| Amsterdam (AMS) → Johannesburg (JNB) | ~9,400 km | €600 |
| EU/UK → Cape Town (CPT) via JNB | > 9,000 km | €600 |
All LHR/FRA/AMS–JNB routes exceed 3,500 km by a wide margin → €600 for 4h+ delays. 3h+ delay on arrival qualifies. Connections via JNB count as one journey on a single ticket.
SAA restructuring — can you still claim?
South African Airways entered business rescue in 2019 and briefly suspended operations. It relaunched in 2021 and resumed international routes including London Heathrow. Flights operated under the current SAA entity (post-2021) are fully subject to EU261. For flights before the suspension (pre-November 2019), claims become more complex and may need to go through the business rescue process — let SubRadar review your case for you.
Claim deadlines by country
Check your old SAA bookings
SubRadar scans your Gmail or Outlook for South African Airways booking confirmation emails and flags potential EU261 claims — including flights from up to 6 years ago.
Scan my flight emails freeOr ask a specialist to file it for you
If you would rather not deal with the airline yourself, our partner Compensair can file the claim for you on a no-win-no-fee basis. SubRadar never takes a cut of your compensation.
See the specialist option →Other Africa long-haul routes: