RIGHT NOW
What should I do right now?
Still at the airport, or just got the cancellation from Air France? These come first. The compensation comes after, once you’re home.
Choose a refund or a new flight. You pick, not Air France: a full refund of the unused ticket, paid within 7 days, or a new flight to your destination at the earliest opportunity (Article 8).
Ask for another airline if you have to. Re-routing at the earliest opportunity isn’t limited to flights run by Air France. If its next seat is days away, ask for a seat on another airline.
You’re owed food and, if needed, a hotel. While you wait for the new flight, Air France owes you meals and refreshments, and a hotel with transport to it if you’re stuck overnight (Article 9).
Keep every receipt. If Air France doesn’t provide them, buy reasonable meals and a hotel yourself. You can claim the cost back.
Don’t take a voucher instead of cash. Vouchers need your signed agreement (Article 7(3)). Say no and the refund and compensation are owed in money.
Write down when you were told. The date and time of the cancellation notice decide whether compensation is owed. Screenshot the email or text.
ON OUR RADAR
Recent Air France cancellations
Our radar confirmed 97 Air France cancellations in the last 30 days, on 76 flight numbers. The most recent:
- AF7526CancelledParis to Brest
- AF1369CancelledAmsterdam to Budapest
- AF1511CancelledHamburg to Paris
- AF1622CancelledParis to Munich
- AF7465CancelledMontpellier to Paris
- AF1726CancelledParis to Venice
The radar watches 7 European airports (Barcelona Airport, Rome Fiumicino, Paris CDG, Heathrow, Frankfurt Airport, Gatwick, Schiphol), so this isn’t every Air France flight. Each flight’s page shows what we recorded. Every Air France flight on the radar →
QUALIFY IT
Does my cancelled Air France flight qualify?
Start with the notice. Under 7 days: you’re owed, unless the new flight left within an hour of the original and landed under two hours late. 7 to 13 days: the limits are two hours early and four hours late. 14 days or more: no compensation, but the refund or rebooking is still owed.
Then the direction. Air France owes on flights into the EU as well as out of it. A cancelled JFK–CDG flight operated by Air France qualifies. The same route operated by Delta doesn’t.
Codeshares follow the airline that operates the flight. An AF flight number on a Delta aircraft is a Delta flight under EC261. Check the “operated by” line on your e-ticket.
THE MONEY
How much am I owed?
€250
Under 1,500 km
€400
1,500–3,500 km
€600
Over 3,500 km
Per person, measured on the journey’s great-circle distance.
Under 1,500 km €250 · 1,500–3,500 km €400 · over 3,500 km €600. Transatlantic cancellations are €600 each. A family of four on a cancelled CDG–JFK is owed €2,400. Most flights within Europe from CDG fall in the €250 band. If Air France re-routes you and you land within two hours (under 1,500 km), three hours (1,500 to 3,500 km) or four hours (over 3,500 km) of the original arrival, it can halve this.
THE PUSHBACK
What will Air France say to refuse?
Air France’s first reply is often not a refusal but an avoir: a voucher, sometimes worth more than the cash. A voucher only counts if you agree to it in writing (Article 7(3)). Turn it down in one line and restate the cash amount.
When Air France does refuse, it usually cites a strike. French air traffic control strikes are extraordinary circumstances. Strikes by Air France’s own crew or ground staff aren’t, whether a union called them (Airhelp v SAS, 2021) or staff called in sick together in protest (Krüsemann, 2018). Ask which strike, on which date.
THE EDGE
What’s specific to Air France
Note the date 60 days after your written complaint. If Air France hasn’t given you a satisfactory answer by then, you can go to MTV.
MTV (Médiation Tourisme et Voyage) is free for you. The DGAC, France’s aviation regulator, is a separate route.
France allows five years to claim. That’s shorter than England’s six and longer than Germany’s three. An Air France flight from 2022 is still in time.
Flights from the US operated by Air France are covered on the way into the EU. It’s the rule people most often miss on this airline.
The same rules on any airline: what to do when your flight is cancelled.
HOW TO CLAIM
How do I claim?
File through Air France’s online compensation request. Put everyone on your booking in one claim, in English or French.
Attach your booking confirmation and the cancellation notice. Say which airline operated the flight.
Turn down any voucher in writing and restate the cash amount per person.
If there’s no satisfactory answer after 60 days, file with MTV.
WHAT AIR FRANCE OWES YOU
Check what Air France owes you — free, two minutes. $39 only if the airline pays.
Check my flight →YOU ASK
Common questions
Air France offered a €700 voucher on a €600 claim. Should I take it?
Only if you want Air France credit. The cash is your right. The voucher is what Air France prefers.
Is a flight from New York to Paris on Air France covered?
Yes. Air France is an EU airline, so flights arriving in the EU qualify. The same flight operated by Delta wouldn’t.
Air France rebooked me via Amsterdam on KLM. Can I still claim?
Yes, if you reached your final destination outside the notice window. The airline on the new route doesn’t change who owes you.
Air France blamed a strike. Do I still get paid?
If Air France’s own staff were striking, yes. That isn’t extraordinary. Only strikes by others, such as air traffic control or airport staff, excuse payment.
How long do I have to claim against Air France?
France allows five years. If there’s no satisfactory answer 60 days after your written complaint, MTV opens.
The law this guide is written against: EC261 full text (EUR-Lex) · UK261 full text (legislation.gov.uk)
General information, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate files claims for a flat $39, charged only if the airline pays, and never takes a percentage of what you are owed.