Cancelled flight with less than 14 days notice

Cancellation is judged on notice. If the airline told you more than 14 days before departure the rules give no payout, but a message that came later, or only at the airport, is where claims begin.

Three things usually have to line up: the notice was short, no sensible replacement flight was offered, and the airline itself caused the problem through overbooking, a technical fault or a crew shortage. Extreme weather and security threats are the reasons airlines use to refuse.

The airline must also give you a choice between re-routing now, travelling later at your convenience or a refund of the ticket with a flight back to your starting point. Compensation sits beside that choice, it is not instead of it.

Vouchers are the trap. An airline may offer one instead of cash, and accepting can waive the payout, so decline until you have checked the claim. Lennuabi handles the rest from the form and a short list of papers.

Amounts follow distance: up to €250 under 1,500 km, up to €400 for longer EU routes and for 1,500 to 3,500 km outside the EU, and up to €600 from 3,500 km.

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