Can You Really Get Money for Air France Flight Delays and Cancellations?

Written By Joanna Teljeur

11 minutes read
Last Updated: May 8, 2025

Can you really take home as much as £520 per person for an Air France flight delay or cancellation? Sure, but there’s a lot more to understand about your entitlements, and many of the guides out there are either too simple or too complex. What about the nuance and subtleties of these rules? Having a deeper understanding about how airline compensation works can make a huge difference in your travel experience. 

And we know firsthand! To date, our legal team has won over £1.5 million for Air France passengers alone. So, in this guide, we’re going to unravel the truth about what you’re really owed and what’s required to get it.

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What Air France Won’t Tell You about Flight Delays

Air France and other EU airlines have to play by the rules of passenger rights regulations, like EU 261. But what does this mean for you as a passenger? 

Well, to start it means that you’re entitled to assistance as well as compensation if your flight is delayed, based on the distance of your flight and how long you’re left waiting. 

But what you might not know is that all airlines operating in Europe are supposed to inform you about your rights after a delay. In fact, Air France is supposed to give you written notification explaining:

• What caused the delay,
• What assistance you will get, and
• How to get compensation or a refund

Assistance for Flight Delays

Fortunately, Air France can’t leave you stranded at the airport. They have to help you with food, drinks, and access to free communication, meaning 2 free calls, emails, or wifi access. 

Most of the time, you’ll be given vouchers for meals, but these will not be given to you automatically. You’ll have to request them. And, don’t get your hopes up for a proper sit-down restaurant experience. They typically only cover the cost of a drink and a snack. 

The Scoop on Food Vouchers

Air France will give you meal vouchers, based on the distance you’re travelling and the amount of time you have to wait past your scheduled departure time. So, if your flight is less than 1,500 km (Paris CDG to London, Berlin, or Lisbon), you have to wait 2 hours before you can ask for a voucher. Think of this as the minimum threshold. But the good news is that assistance is required of Air France no matter what caused the delay.

If you’re travelling farther than 1,500 km, you will have to wait longer to get assistance. Here's a table to help this make more sense.

Food Voucher Time Table

But Wait . . . There’s Always Exceptions!

Air passenger rights regulations set the guidelines for issuing meal vouchers, but sometimes you can get more from Air France than you might expect!

One passenger called AmoMondo wrote this about their experience on TripAdvisor: 

When I was delayed with Air France, I got a 2 course meal and a soft drink, so I used it. I've also had one from them that could be used for a coffee or similar and a snack. When the delay happened after we were at the departure gate, they just made an announcement to come and get your voucher. When I missed a connection, they just handed me the voucher along with the boarding pass for my next flight at the transfer desk.

Also, you can always ask for food assistance earlier than the required time frames. The worst they can do is tell you no. 

What About Extensive Delays?

Extensive delays have their own rules. 

Waiting at the airport for 5 hours or more? You have the option to get a new flight to your destination or a full ticket refund, without any extra fees. You can also just stick with your original flight and wait out the delay. But if this means you have to wait at the airport overnight, Air France will have to put you up in a hotel and provide transportation if a shuttle isn’t available. 

But again, don’t wait for them to offer this benefit. If you need hotel accommodation following a flight delay, ask for it. If they refuse, and you have to pay out-of-pocket, keep the receipt. 

One thing to bear in mind is that hotel lodging is only required of Air France, when the delay is their fault, meaning they had no way of preventing it. But sometimes they’ll offer this to their passengers anyway.

Here’s what one passenger experienced when their flight was cancelled because of the London power station fire in March 2025:

I had a return flight from London Heathrow to Bangkok. On my return flight, my connection to London was cancelled due to a fire near Heathrow. Staff at the service desk quickly rescheduled a next day morning flight, put me in a hotel with dinner and breakfast, and also gave me a €15 voucher to spend in any airport restaurant. Plus I was given a sleeping kit. - Deniz N., TripAdvisor

The Truth about Getting Compensated

You might already know that delays of 3 hours or more qualify for a compensation payout, but there are some misunderstandings about this rule, so let’s clarify. 

1. The 3 hour delay threshold for compensation is based on your ARRIVAL time, NOT your departure time. So, if you land 3 or more hours later than your scheduled arrival time, you might be eligible for payment from Air France. 
2. Not every delay qualifies for repayment. In fact, the ONLY time you will get money from Air France is if they caused the delay or cancellation. So, if they didn’t have enough crewmembers to operate the flight, for example, you would be eligible for compensation. But, if your departure airport stopped flights because of a widespread power outage, you would not qualify because clearly, this is outside of the airline’s control. 
3. Air France will not compensate you automatically. You will have to file a claim with them and prove that you qualify. 

How Much Money Will You Get?

Assuming your flight meets all the qualifications, you’ll get between £220 - £520 based on how far you travelled on that particular flight.  

• £220 (€250) for flights under 1,500km
• £350 (€400) for flights between 1,500-3,500km
• £520 (€600) for flights over 3,500km

Here’s an important point: If your flight was over 3,500km, and you arrive between 3 and 4 hours of your scheduled arrival time, Air France will try to reduce the £520 to £260. But knowing this, we always try to get the full amount for our clients.

When a Delay Makes You Miss a Connecting Flight

Lots of passengers miss their connecting flights because of an earlier delay (or cancellation). But the good news is that you can probably get compensated as long as both segments of your trip were on the same booking. Then, the amount you end up getting will be based on how late you arrive and the distance of your entire journey.

Codeshare Flights?

If you booked your ticket with Air France, but the flight was operated by a different carrier, it is known as a codeshare flight. So, if you had a qualifying flight delay, you would be compensated by the operating airline.

Here’s how it works:

You buy a ticket from Paris to New York with Air France, but the flight is operated by Delta. You’re delayed for 4 hours and decide to submit a claim for compensation. To do this, you would make the claim with Delta, even though you bought your ticket through Air France.

Airlines based in the United States, like Delta, still have to follow EU rules whenever they depart from an European airport. So, if you have a flight disruption with a US carrier, and you’re taking off from Paris, you’ll still be able to get compensated if your flight qualifies.

Air France Codeshare Partners

Flight Delay Cheat Sheet

Cancelled Flight? Here’s What to Expect 

Anytime an Air France flight is cancelled, you can expect a refund OR a seat on the next available flight - your choice. 

You can also get cash compensation, but this is based on:

• The distance of the flight AND
• When Air France notified you about the cancellation. 

Here’s how it works: If your flight is cancelled LESS THAN 2 weeks before departure, you could get paid between £220-£520, if Air France is to blame. As with delays, you’ll be compensated based on the distance of your flight.

But no matter what led to the cancellation, Air France must give you your money back (a refund) OR a rebooking. 

Can You Get a Refund AND a Rebooking?

As a matter of fact, you can! 

If Air France cancelled your flight less than 2 weeks before the scheduled departure AND they are to blame (because of something they could have prevented), then you could get a refund as well as a compensation payment.

What if Your Seat is Downgraded?

If your flight was cancelled and you choose to be rebooked, you might get a seat in a lower cabin class from the one you purchased. This is known as a seating class downgrade, and you can get between 30% and 75% of the price of your ticket, depending on the distance of that flight.

Cancelled Flight Cheat Sheet

5 Steps to Compensation

We’ve been collecting compensation payouts from airlines around the world since 2017. So, based on this knowledge and experience, we’re going to explain exactly what you need to do to get paid by the airline.  

Step #1: See if your flight qualifies

The fastest and easiest way to see if you qualify is by using a compensation calculator. You just enter the basic details of your flight, and you’ll see if you can get compensated as well as the amount you’re owed.

Step #2: Organise your travel documents

You have to prove to Air France why you are owed compensation. This means you’ll have to send them copies of all your travel documents to show that you were a ticket passenger. 

So, get your:

• Boarding pass, 
• Booking receipt, 
• Any conversations or notifications you had with the airline about the delay or cancellation
• Evidence of the delay or cancellation

Step #3: Write a letter to the airline

Take your time with this part, because you have to fully describe what happened, when, where, and why you deserve to be compensated. To make this easier, you can use our letter template and just enter the details about your specific situation.

Step #4: Send your claim to Air France

Air France likes it when you send your claims through their claim form, but you can also send them your letter by post. As long as you send it to them in writing, you’re good. You can find all the Air France contact information here.

Also, you have to submit your claim within 5 years if you file your claim in France. You can also file your claim in your departure country, especially if they allow you to submit your claim even later. Check to see the filing deadline for other EU countries.

Step #5: Give them a few weeks to respond

Don’t expect to get a response or a decision the next day. It can take a week or so for Air France to acknowledge your claim and another few weeks for them to reach a decision. But this doesn’t mean you can’t follow up if you haven’t heard from them. Whatever you do, just be sure you’re polite and respectful.

Rejected Compensation Claims

Don’t be surprised if your claim is rejected. It happens more often than you think, but it doesn’t mean you have to just accept this decision. If you feel that Air France has rejected your claim unfairly, then you can escalate your case to the National Enforcement Body of your country of residence.

If you don’t want to deal with all that, our legal team can pick up your case and sort it out for you. To date, we’ve helped over {{number of passengers}} get compensated by airlines around the world. Not only that, but we have a 98% win rate. So, send us your flight details, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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