Compensation for a delayed or cancelled Qatar Airways flight

Compensation for a delayed Qatar Airways flight

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

In extraordinary circumstances - for example, severe weather, air traffic restrictions or closed airspace - Qatar Airways 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 the airline'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 Qatar Airways owes you care at the airport.

Missed a connection in Doha?

Most journeys with Qatar Airways from Europe continue with a connection in Doha. If all flights are on a single booking and the journey starts at an EU airport, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 covers the whole journey - including a delay on the second flight outside the EU. You are entitled to compensation if you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late - even if the first flight was only a few minutes late but made you miss the next one.

Compensation is based on the distance between your departure airport and your final destination, not Doha. 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%.

If you miss a connection, the airline usually rebooks you on the next flight. The new flight, however, does not replace compensation - if it gets you to your final destination 3 hours or more late, you can claim compensation if the other legal conditions are met. If the flights are on separate bookings, they are, as a rule, treated as separate journeys.

Example compensation for a journey from Sofia with a connection in Doha

The examples are for a journey on a single booking from Sofia with a connection in Doha. 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.

When does the Regulation apply to a Qatar Airways flight?

Qatar Airways is a non-EU airline. So which rules apply depends on the airport where your journey starts:

Compensation for a cancelled Qatar Airways flight

If Qatar Airways 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 Doha - the compensation is based on the distance to your final destination.

How much compensation does Qatar Airways 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 Qatar Airways flight

What else does Qatar Airways 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 - Qatar Airways 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 Qatar Airways 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 Qatar Airways?

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