Compensation for a delayed or cancelled Lufthansa flight

Compensation for a delayed Lufthansa flight

Passengers can claim compensation of €250 to €600 for a delayed Lufthansa 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 Lufthansa flight is delayed?

In extraordinary circumstances - for example, severe weather, air traffic restrictions or certain airport problems - Lufthansa 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.

A strike by Lufthansa's own staff - pilots or cabin crew - is, as a rule, not an extraordinary circumstance when it concerns the employees' demands on the airline. Strikes by staff outside the airline - for example, airport security or air traffic control - may be an extraordinary circumstance, but even then Lufthansa owes you care at the airport.

Missed a connection in Frankfurt or Munich?

When travelling with Lufthansa from Bulgaria, you will often connect in Frankfurt or Munich. If all flights are on a single booking, they are treated as one journey. You are entitled to compensation if you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late - even if the first flight from Bulgaria was only a few minutes late but made you miss the next flight.

Compensation is based on the distance between your departure airport in Bulgaria and your final destination. So a short delay on the Sofia - Frankfurt flight that makes you arrive in New York 3 hours or more late may mean compensation of €600, not €250. On flights of more than 3,500 km, if the delay at the final destination is between 3 and 4 hours, the compensation may be reduced by 50%.

This also applies when the onward flight is operated by a partner airline, as long as it is on the same booking. On connecting flights that start in the EU, Lufthansa may be liable for the compensation even if it operated only the first flight.

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

If you miss a connection on a single booking and the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 are met, you are entitled to care - meals, refreshments and, if necessary, a hotel and transport between the airport and the hotel.

Example compensation for a journey from Sofia with a connection in Frankfurt or Munich

The examples are for a journey on a single booking from Sofia. If you depart from Varna or Burgas, the distance is different. 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.

Lufthansa flight compensation from Bulgaria - routes and amounts

The table shows the possible compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 for direct flights with a Lufthansa flight number from Bulgaria.

The routes are based on the Lufthansa website as of October 2026. The Burgas - Frankfurt flights are seasonal. Distances are calculated using the great circle method, as required by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004.

Who owes compensation if the flight is operated by another airline?

Flights with a Lufthansa (LH) flight number are not always operated by Lufthansa itself. Some flights between Sofia and Frankfurt and between Sofia and Munich are operated by Lufthansa City Airlines, and Lufthansa-numbered flights from Varna and Burgas to Frankfurt by Discover Airlines. Both are German airlines in the Lufthansa Group, so Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 also applies to their flights.

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.

Compensation for a cancelled Lufthansa flight

If Lufthansa 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 - for example, with a connection in Frankfurt or Munich - the compensation is based on the distance to your final destination.

How much compensation does Lufthansa have to pay?

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

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 Lufthansa flight

What else does Lufthansa 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 - Lufthansa 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 Lufthansa 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 or credit for a future flight 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 Lufthansa?

• the cost of meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation and transport if you waited for the delayed or replacement flight, including in Frankfurt or Munich after a missed connection, and Lufthansa 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.