QUALIFY IT
Measured at arrival, not departure
The three-hour threshold is arrival delay at the final destination (Sturgeon, C-402/07; Germanwings, C-452/13 for doors-open). A late departure that recovers in the air owes nothing; a modest departure delay that cascades into a missed connection can owe €600.
Document your client’s actual arrival time. It is the number the whole claim turns on.
THE MONEY
What is it worth?
€250
Under 1,500 km
€400
1,500–3,500 km
€600
Over 3,500 km
Per passenger, measured on the journey’s great-circle distance.
€250 under 1,500 km, €400 to 3,500 km, €600 beyond, with a 50% reduction available to the airline in narrow re-routing cases on the longest band.
THE PUSHBACK
What Lufthansa will say
Technical faults are the common refusal. Unexpected technical problems arising in normal operation are not extraordinary (Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07) — a fact worth quoting directly at them.
Rotation delays out of Frankfurt and Munich are airline-controlled no matter how they are labelled.
THE EDGE
What’s specific to Lufthansa
Frankfurt and Munich rotation delays are the standard Lufthansa shape — the inbound aircraft lands late and the whole day slips behind it.
Lufthansa’s thorough documentation is an opening: request the written operational reason, because a specific answer is easier to rebut than a vague one.
söp conciliation is free and available once Lufthansa refuses; Germany’s three-year year-end clock sets the outside deadline.
THE PLAY
How do you file it?
Fix the arrival time with independent evidence before writing.
Cite Sturgeon for the three-hour rule and Wallentin-Hermann if a technical defence appears.
Escalate to söp on refusal or silence.
Or forward the booking confirmation to MyAirAdvocate and this claim is prepared for you — flights watched, the delay detected, evidence assembled, deadlines tracked.
See how it works →AGENTS ASK
Questions agents ask
Departure delay or arrival delay?
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Arrival, at the final destination, measured when the doors open.
A technical fault caused it — does that excuse Lufthansa?
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Usually not. Wallentin-Hermann holds that technical problems in normal operation are not extraordinary circumstances.
What is the deadline?
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Three years from the end of the year of the flight under German law.
Does the claim change if they were re-routed?
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The airline may halve the top band in narrow cases. Check the arrival delay before accepting a reduced offer.
Where do I escalate?
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söp, Germany’s conciliation body — free for your client and effective on stalled claims.
General information for travel professionals, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate prepares claims; it does not represent passengers and takes no percentage of any compensation.