Cancelled flight

Check your rights with the Norwegian Consumer Council’s flight calculator. 

If you have been affected by flight cancellation – whether you were notified well in advance of your scheduled travel date or just before departure – you should be given a choice between:

1. Rerouting to your final destination; or
2. A refund for the part, or parts, of the journey cancelled or not completed due to the cancellation.

If you choose rerouting instead of a refund, the air carrier should offer you an alternative flight to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, or at a later date of your choice subject to the availability of seats. 

Appropriate assistance in respect of meals, refreshments, communication facilities (two telephone calls, faxes or emails) and a hotel accommodation should be provided depending on the flight distance and in reasonable relation to the waiting time.

If you do not receive care and want a refund for your expenses, we advise you to keep receipts.

The Regulation provides that compensation is payable in cases of flight cancellation. The entitlement and the amount varies depending on when you are informed of the cancellation, the arrangements for an alternative flight, the distance of the flight cancelled and the reason of the cancellation.

The general rule is that if you are informed about the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure, the air carrier is not required to pay compensation.

Otherwise, the distance of the flight determines the amount of compensation due:

• €250 per passenger for flights of 1,500km or less
• €400 per passenger for intra-Community flights of more than 1,500km or for other flights between 1,500km and 3,500km
• €600 per passenger for all other flights

The amount of compensation payable may be reduced by 50% if the rerouting offered allows you to arrive at your final destination close to the original scheduled arrival time  (within two to four hours depending on the distance of the flight).

If the air carrier can prove that the cancellation was caused by an extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures were taken, no compensation will be payable. Examples of events which may constitute extraordinary circumstances include bad weather, political unrest, a security threat, unexpected flight safety shortcomings, air traffic control restrictions or strikes that affect the operation of the flight.

If your financial loss due to the cancellation is higher than the standard compensation, you can request the excess covered in accordance to the Montreal convention. You have to document your claim. An example of a financial loss that could be covered is loss of income.

If you wish to submit a complaint due to a delayed flight, you must first send a written complaint to the transporting airline. You can use the EU’s complaint form. Fill out the date and keep a copy. We recommend you fill out the form in English.

If the airline does not respond within six weeks from the receipt of the complaint, or you are not satisfied with the response, you can forward your complaint to the National Enforcement Body (NEB) in the country where the problem arose.