RIGHT NOW
What should I do right now?
Still waiting on a late Air France flight? These come first. The compensation comes after, once you’re home.
Food and drink start at 2 hours. Air France owes you meals and refreshments from a 2-hour delay on flights under 1,500 km, 3 hours up to 3,500 km and 4 hours beyond, and a hotel if you can’t leave until the next day (Article 6).
Keep every receipt. If Air France doesn’t provide them, buy reasonable meals and a hotel yourself. You can claim the cost back.
From 5 hours, you can give up the trip. A delay of 5 hours or more lets you take a full refund instead of flying, and a flight back to where you started if you’re part-way through the journey (Article 6 and Article 8).
Note the time the doors open. Compensation is measured at arrival, when the doors open at your final destination, not at take-off or touchdown. A photo with the time on it is enough.
Don’t sign for a voucher at the gate. A voucher in place of compensation needs your written agreement (Article 7(3)). Turn it down and claim the cash once you’re home.
ON OUR RADAR
Recent Air France delays of 3+ hours
Our radar confirmed 60 Air France arrivals 3 or more hours late in the last 30 days, on 49 flight numbers. The most recent:
- AF17774h 29m lateMarrakech to Paris
- AF17054h 21m lateLondon to Paris
- AF17043h 45m lateParis to London
- AF10173h 18m lateDublin to Paris
- AF2833h 2m lateDelhi to Paris
- AF17553h 20m lateAlgier to Paris
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 delayed Air France flight qualify?
The arrival delay at your final destination decides it, and arrival means the doors opening (Germanwings, C-452/13). Waits for a stand at CDG are long. On a delay Air France records at 2h 50m, the taxi from the runway to Terminal 2E is often the whole claim.
Direction counts too. Air France is an EU airline, so a late arrival into Paris from New York or Atlanta qualifies. It doesn’t matter that the flight left the US. What matters is who flew it.
Connections through CDG on one ticket are one journey (Folkerts). A 40-minute delay on your first flight that gets you to your final destination 4 hours late is a €600 claim, not €250, when the whole journey is over 3,500 km.
The same rule reaches past the US. Johannesburg, Lagos, Abuja or Nairobi into Paris on a flight operated by Air France is covered: an EU airline landing in the EU. All four are over 3,500 km, so landing 4+ hours late means you’re owed €600, and €300 between 3 and 4 hours. On a codeshare operated by a non-EU partner, the claim falls away.
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. On flights over 3,500 km, an arrival 3 to 4 hours late can be paid at half: €300. From 4 hours it’s the full €600. Short flights from CDG are mostly €250.
THE PUSHBACK
What will Air France say to refuse?
The reply cites air traffic control. French ATC restrictions are real and often extraordinary. But Air France has to show the restriction applied to your flight on that day, not that France had a strike week. Ask for the specific slot restriction.
The other reply blames a late incoming aircraft: the plane from Bangkok was late. That’s Air France’s rotation, and usually it pays. Air France can rely on it only if it proves an extraordinary event delayed the plane’s earlier flight and it took all reasonable measures (C-74/19). Ask what held up the plane from Bangkok.
THE EDGE
What’s specific to Air France
Air France often offers a voucher first. Turn it down in writing. Article 7(3) makes cash the default.
MTV mediation opens 60 days after your written complaint and is free. The DGAC is the regulator. Name both when you escalate.
Delays on Air France flights from the US into Paris qualify. They’re the most under-claimed delays on this airline.
France allows five years to claim, so a delay from 2022 can still be paid.
The same rules on any airline: flight delayed 3+ hours — what you’re owed.
HOW TO CLAIM
How do I claim?
File through Air France’s online compensation request with the doors-open arrival time you can prove.
Include everyone on your booking. Attach boarding passes and the confirmation.
Name the airline that operated the flight. If you connected, give the arrival time at your final destination.
Note the date 60 days out. That’s when MTV opens.
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 says 2h 45m, but we sat on the tarmac for 25 more minutes. Can I claim?
Yes. The doors opening is the measure. 3h 10m at the doors is a claim.
My delayed flight into CDG was a codeshare operated by Delta. Do I claim from Air France or Delta?
Delta operated it, so it’s Delta’s flight. A US airline flying into the EU isn’t covered.
Is Johannesburg to Paris on Air France covered if it was five hours late?
Yes. Air France is an EU airline landing in the EU, so EC261 applies wherever the flight started. Over 3,500 km, that’s €600 per person.
Do I get more for flying business class?
No. The amounts are per person and the same in every cabin.
I already accepted a voucher. Can I undo it?
Usually not, if you accepted it in writing. Your claim for care still stands.
How does Air France pay if I win?
By bank transfer to you, in euros, usually 2 to 3 weeks after you agree.
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.