Compensation for a delayed or cancelled Bulgaria Air flight

Compensation for a delayed Bulgaria Air flight

Passengers can claim compensation of €250 to €600 for a delayed Bulgaria Air flight if they reach their final destination 3 hours or more late. The arrival delay is counted until at least one of the aircraft doors is opened and passengers can leave the aircraft, not until the moment of landing.

What are your rights when your Bulgaria Air flight is delayed?

In extraordinary circumstances - for example, severe weather, air traffic restrictions or certain airport problems - Bulgaria Air may be released from paying compensation if it proves that this particular circumstance caused the delay of that particular flight and that the delay could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Ordinary technical faults and problems within the airline's own organisation - for example, a crew member suddenly falling ill - are, as a rule, not extraordinary circumstances.

Delayed flight from Varna or Burgas and a missed connection in Sofia?

Bulgaria Air flies between Sofia and Varna and between Sofia and Burgas. Domestic flights are also covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 - if a stand-alone Sofia - Varna or Sofia - Burgas flight is delayed or cancelled, you can claim €250 in compensation, which is often more than the ticket price.

If you travel from Varna or Burgas with a connection in Sofia and both flights are on a single booking, they are treated as one journey to your final destination. If the delay of the domestic flight makes you miss your next flight and you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late, you can claim compensation, even if the domestic flight itself was delayed by less than 3 hours.

The amount of compensation is based on the distance between the departure airport and your final destination, calculated using the great circle method, not on the sum of the two flights. That is why the amount may differ from a flight from Sofia - for example, for a Varna - Sofia - Frankfurt journey the compensation is €400 (1,647 km), while for a Sofia - Frankfurt flight it is €250 (1,397 km).

If the flights are on separate bookings, they are, as a rule, treated as separate journeys. You can claim compensation for the first flight if it reached its own destination 3 hours or more late and the other legal conditions are met.

Bulgaria Air flight compensation from Bulgaria - routes and amounts

The table shows the possible compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 for Bulgaria Air direct flights from Sofia. For journeys from Varna and Burgas with a connection in Sofia, the amount is calculated to the final destination and may be different.

The routes are based on the Bulgaria Air website as of October 2026; some of them are seasonal. Distances are calculated using the great circle method, as required by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. The amount shown is the possible compensation - your entitlement depends on the other conditions of the Regulation, and in certain cases the compensation may be reduced.

Flights with Bulgaria Air partners on a single booking - compensation of up to €600

If you travel on a single booking from Bulgaria to a long-haul destination with a connection - for example, with a Bulgaria Air flight to Paris or Amsterdam and an onward flight with a partner airline, or with a domestic flight from Varna and an onward flight from Sofia with a partner - the journey is treated as a whole. If you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late, the compensation is based on the distance from your departure airport in Bulgaria to your final destination and, for destinations outside the EU more than 3,500 km away, is €600.

This also applies when the delay occurred on the flight operated by the partner airline. On connecting flights on a single booking that start in the EU, Bulgaria Air may be liable for the compensation even if it operated only the first flight and the delay was caused by a later flight operated by another carrier.

On the return journey to Bulgaria on a single booking, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 may also apply - for example, on a New York - Paris - Sofia route with Air France and Bulgaria Air. This also applies when the first flight from a non-EU country is operated by a non-EU partner and the onward flight to Bulgaria by Bulgaria Air: if you arrive late at your final destination, the claim can be brought against Bulgaria Air. If all flights are operated by non-EU carriers, the Regulation, as a rule, does not apply just because your final destination is Bulgaria.

Your booking usually shows which airline operates each flight ("operated by"). On a stand-alone flight, compensation is, as a rule, owed by the airline that actually operates the flight, not necessarily the one whose code is on the ticket. On connecting flights on a single booking, however, the airline that operated another flight of the journey may also be liable. Bulgaria Air partners include Air France, KLM, Qatar Airways, ITA Airways and Air Serbia.

Compensation for a cancelled Bulgaria Air flight

If Bulgaria Air cancels a flight and passengers are told less than 14 days before the scheduled departure, they can claim compensation of €250 to €600, unless the airline proves that an extraordinary circumstance caused the cancellation of that particular flight and that the cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, or it offered re-routing that meets the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. Besides financial compensation, the Regulation also gives you the right to choose between a refund of the ticket price and re-routing to your final destination, as well as the right to care - meals, refreshments and, if needed, accommodation. Care is owed even when the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances.

If the cancelled flight is part of a journey on a single booking - with a connection in Sofia or with a partner flight - the compensation is based on the distance to your final destination.

How much compensation does Bulgaria Air have to pay?

Under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, the amount of compensation depends on the flight distance:

On the Bulgaria Air direct routes listed in the table above, the compensation is €250 or €400. On a journey on a single booking to a final destination outside the EU more than 3,500 km away, the compensation can reach €600, including when part of the journey is operated by a partner airline.

If you are re-routed, the airline may, under certain conditions, reduce the compensation by 50%.

Check how much compensation you can get for your Bulgaria Air flight

What else does Bulgaria Air owe you besides compensation?

If your flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, the airline must offer you a choice between re-routing to your final destination and a refund of the ticket price. The choice is yours - Bulgaria Air cannot force an alternative flight on you instead of a refund. If your flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, you have the right to give up the trip and ask for a refund of the ticket price.

When can you ask Bulgaria Air for a refund of your ticket?

• your flight was cancelled and you chose a refund instead of re-routing;
• your flight was delayed by 5 hours or more and you decided not to travel;
• you were denied boarding and chose a refund instead of re-routing.

The refund covers the price of the unused parts of the ticket and is due within 7 days. It is paid in cash or by bank transfer, and a voucher can only be given with your written agreement.

A ticket refund is not compensation. These are two separate rights, and getting one does not cancel the other. If your flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, you do not lose your right to compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 just because you accepted a refund of your ticket or re-routing.

What other expenses can you claim from Bulgaria Air?

• the cost of meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation and transport if you waited for the delayed or replacement flight, including in Sofia after a missed connection, and Bulgaria Air did not provide them;
• the costs you incurred to reach your final destination if you were not offered a choice between re-routing and a refund and had to arrange the journey yourself.

How does the process of collecting your compensation work?

You can follow the progress of your claim in your personal account, and we email you whenever there is a change in your case. If you have any questions, you can always contact us by phone too.

Did the airline refuse to pay you?

The airline’s refusal does not necessarily mean that you are not entitled to compensation. The reason given in the refusal is not always sufficient to release the airline from liability.

See why airlines refuse to pay compensation and how you can proceed.