Flight Delay Compensation: How to Claim It
Was your flight delayed or cancelled? Check the flight delay compensation you are entitled to under Türkiye (SHY-YOLCU), EU (EU261) and US DOT rules, and collect up to €600 instantly.
Statutory Compensation Limits
The fixed statutory compensation amount you may be entitled to, based on flight distance.
What Is the Time Threshold?
Your rights officially begin once the statutory delay at the destination is exceeded.
Mandatory Passenger Rights
Free services the airline must cover during long delays.
Flight Delay Compensation Calculator
Select your route, delay duration and alternative-flight situation to estimate your legal rights and the amount you may receive.
MAXIMUM AMOUNT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO
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Flight Delay Compensation Rights Assistant
Quickly check your eligibility by analysing the causes and conditions of the delay.
What is your flight's departure point and airline?
What did the airline cite as the cause of the delay?
How late did you reach your destination?
Legal Analysis Result
Live Airport Rights Tracker
Follow these steps and record your situation so you don't lose any rights during a delay at the airport.
Your Live Status Report
Start working through the checklist to fully protect your rights at the airport.
Quick Summary: Passenger Rights on Delayed Flights
As of 2026, the global civil aviation sector is going through one of the most volatile operational periods in its history due to structural cyber outages, jet-fuel crises, controller strikes and airline workforce shortages. This has made it essential for civil aviation authorities to protect consumer rights with stricter rules.
How is flight delay compensation calculated? (SHY-YOLCU exchange-rate rules)
In Türkiye, passengers' rights are protected under the "Regulation on the Rights of Passengers Travelling by Air" (SHY-YOLCU), issued by the SHGM under Civil Aviation Law No. 2920. Published in the Official Gazette No. 32748 dated 10 December 2024 and brought fully into force across 2025 and 2026, the latest amendments grant passengers the right to claim direct financial compensation for delayed flights, achieving full alignment with EU rules.
The Exchange-Rate Legal Dispute
To avoid exchange-rate increases, airlines write into ticket contracts that compensation will be paid at the rate on the day the ticket was purchased. However, especially under high inflation, this is an invalid imposition that undermines passenger rights.
When calculating the Turkish Lira equivalent of the compensation, the CBRT foreign-exchange selling rate on the day the payment is actually made must be used. The passenger's purchasing power is preserved.
In this legal dispute over the Turkish Lira equivalent of compensation claims, the airlines' insistence on the ticket-purchase-date rate clearly violates consumer protection law. Always insist that your claim be calculated at the "Payment Date Rate", or base your legal action on these precedents.
SHY-YOLCU Delay Thresholds and Care Services
| Flight Type | Delay Duration | Mandatory Service |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic & International under 1500 km | 2 hours or more | Hot/cold drinks, light snacks and uninterrupted communication. |
| International 1500 - 3500 km | 3 hours or more | Breakfast or lunch/dinner appropriate to the delay, plus additional refreshments. |
| International over 3500 km | 4 hours or more | Main and side hot meals depending on the time of day, food and drink throughout the wait. |
| All Distances (Overnight Required) | 1 night or more | Hotel/accommodation and free airport-hotel transfer. |
Class Changes and Special-Category Passengers
In the event of a delay, ticket-class changes are governed by Article 11 of the regulation and special-passenger priorities (Article 12):
Change of Flight Class Due to a Delay
Placement in a Higher Class (Upgrading)
If you were upgraded to Business Class due to seating arrangements, the airline cannot charge you any extra fee.
Placement in a Lower Class (Downgrading)
If you are placed in a lower class, between 30% and 75% of the ticket fare difference, depending on distance, must be refunded in cash with no deductions.
Protection of Vulnerable Passengers
In operational disruptions and delays, civil aviation legislation grants absolute priority to certain passenger groups. The airline is bound to these passengers by the principle of strict liability.
What are the conditions for claiming flight delay compensation on European flights? (EU261)
Under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applied across the European Union, despite intense lobbying by aviation interests to block and delay it, the European Parliament protected consumer rights and adopted a major compromise reform package in June 2026.
Delay Threshold and Start of Compensation
When delays at the destination reach 3 hours, your fixed compensation right is triggered. Protected in favour of passengers, this rule is your strongest legal basis against airlines' attempts to postpone.
Transparent Notification Rule
Airlines must proactively provide passengers with the application channels within the first 48 hours after a flight is delayed.
Your delay has exceeded 3 hours. Click to start your flight delay compensation claim worth €400.
Carry-On Baggage Fee Injustice Resolved
The era of airlines artificially showing low base fares and charging excessive fees for cabin carry-on bags is coming to an end.
Under the new EU consumer protection package, standard cabin baggage must be included in the ticket price. Passengers travelling without baggage are offered an additional discount on the ticket price.
On US flights, how do you get a ticket refund instead of flight delay compensation?
To fully prevent passengers from being short-changed with airline credits and vouchers, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) brought its "Automatic Refund Final Rule" into force as of 2026.
Automatic Refund Threshold
For delays over 3 hours on domestic and 6 hours on international routes, the ticket fare is refunded automatically, with no need to file a request.
Statutory Refund Period
Refunds are mandatory within 7 business days for credit cards and 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
Service Refunds
Delayed baggage (12-30 hours) and undelivered Wi-Fi or seat-selection fees are refunded with no deductions.
Differences from the EU/Türkiye Regime and the "Refund III" Uncertainty
US legislation does not provide for fixed financial compensation for lost time (such as €250 - €600); it only guarantees a refund of the ticket fare. There is also no federal obligation to provide free meals or hotel accommodation. Against the flight-number changes airlines make to avoid their refund obligations, on 5 December 2025 the DOT issued a stay order, suspending enforcement until 30 June 2026. The matter will be finally resolved under "Refund III".
Is there flight delay compensation on flights from Albania, Serbia or Kosovo?
The Western Balkan countries within the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) agreement have fully integrated their aviation rules with EU (EC261) law. Accordingly, on all flights departing from Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, passengers hold full EU compensation rights.
Balkan Common Airspace Portal
Albanian Civil Aviation Authority (AAC)
On all flights departing from Albania, or departing from this country and connecting to a non-EU destination (e.g. New York), full EU passenger rights apply in case of a delayed arrival.
In which cases is flight delay compensation not paid? (What are extraordinary circumstances?)
To avoid their compensation obligations, airlines tend to label every kind of disruption as "force majeure" or an "extraordinary circumstance." However, the precedents of high courts invalidate these defences:
Chained Downstream Delay Ruling
Under the EU General Court's ruling of 4 March 2026, an airline postponing a flight on its own initiative to wait for earlier connecting passengers is its own independent decision. This cannot be deemed an extraordinary circumstance for the subsequent chained delays.
Routine Technical Faults & Staff Illness
Sudden illness of cabin crew or pilots falls within the airlines' operational backup planning and is an ordinary business risk. Technical faults are likewise part of routine airline operations.
Lightning Strike (C-399/24 AirHelp Ruling)
The CJEU accepted that safety checks following a lightning strike may be an extraordinary circumstance. However, the airline must prove it took all reasonable measures (the two-stage Wallentin-Hermann test) to prevent the delay.
Bird Strike & Cyber Outages
Bird strikes and infrastructural system collapses like CrowdStrike are extraordinary circumstances. No statutory compensation is paid, but passengers must be provided in full with accommodation, food and drink, and ticket-refund rights.
Our Compensation Claim Guides for Türkiye-Based Airlines
How Do You File a Legal Flight Delay Compensation Claim?
In cases of flight cancellations, delays and denied boarding, airlines may reject claims with complex legal processes and bureaucracy. Uçuş Tazmin's professional network of lawyers protects the passenger's right and handles the entire process until compensation is collected from the airline. If we don't win, we charge no fee!