Usually not. When your flight departs from an airport in the EU, your rights are the same whether you fly with a low-cost, charter or scheduled airline, and wherever the airline is from.
It matters only when the flight departs from outside the EU and lands in the EU - in that case Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applies only if the flight is operated by an EU airline.
The obligations lie with the airline that actually operates the flight, not the one you bought the ticket from - this matters for codeshare flights. The amount of compensation depends on the distance and the route, not on the airline. See which flights passenger rights apply to.
Not for the right to compensation. It is owed by the airline that operated the flight, regardless of whether you bought the ticket directly from the airline, through an online intermediary, from a travel agency or as part of a package holiday through a tour operator.
How you bought the ticket matters for other things. If the ticket was bought through an intermediary, the airline may refund its price through the intermediary rather than directly to you. With a package holiday, compensation for the flight is claimed from the airline, while claims about the package itself may be directed at the tour operator. However you bought the ticket, keep the booking confirmation - it proves that you had a confirmed reservation for the flight.
Children are entitled to compensation in full if they travel on a ticket at the airline's standard fare, including with a usual child discount. The amount of compensation is the same as for an adult.
For a baby travelling on a parent's lap, the right to compensation depends on whether a ticket was issued for the baby and whether the travel was paid for. If the baby travels free of charge, Regulation (EC) 261/2004 may not apply. When a fare was paid for the baby, the case has to be assessed against the specific ticket and booking. A claim for a child is filed by the parent or legal guardian.
You do. Compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 is for the inconvenience suffered by the passenger, so the right belongs to the person who travelled, not to whoever paid for the ticket - whether that is an employer, another person or a travel agency.
Yes. A boarding pass is not required - it is enough to prove that you had a confirmed reservation for the flight, for example with an email confirmation, an e-ticket or another document from the airline. The Court of Justice of the EU has expressly held that an airline cannot refuse compensation just because the passenger does not present a boarding pass (judgment in Case C-756/18).
This also applies when the flight was cancelled before check-in and no boarding pass was ever issued.
Most likely yes. In Bulgaria you can claim compensation through the courts for up to three years from the date of the flight, so you can get compensation for a flight from a year or two ago.
The time limit for a court claim is set by national law and differs between countries, so for a flight governed by the law of another country the time limit may be shorter. From 23 October 2027, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 also introduces a separate 9-month time limit from the date of departure for submitting a compensation request to the airline. See the time limits by country.
Yes, if the flight meets the conditions for compensation. You do not need to know the exact reason for the delay or cancellation to claim compensation. If the airline wants to refuse compensation on the grounds of extraordinary circumstances, it must prove what they were and that it could not have avoided their consequences.
The reason is often learned only when the airline responds to the claim, and its explanation does not always match what actually happened to the flight. That is why the reason is worth checking. See how we check the reason for the delay or cancellation.
No. Compensation is paid in money, usually by bank transfer. A voucher or another service instead of money is possible only if you expressly agree in writing. The same applies to the refund of the ticket price after a cancellation.
The food and drink vouchers that the airline hands out at the airport are something different - they are part of the care it owes you while you wait and do not replace compensation. If you have used them, this does not take away your right to compensation.
It may, if the airline has not fulfilled its obligation to reroute you. In the event of a cancellation or denied boarding, it must offer to get you to your final destination at the earliest opportunity and under comparable conditions. If it offered you nothing, or offered you a flight only several days later although an earlier suitable option was available, you can ask it to refund the ticket you bought yourself.
It is important that the alternative you chose is reasonable for the specific situation. Keep the new ticket, the proof of payment and your correspondence with the airline. The refund of this expense is separate from compensation - one does not cancel the other.
Yes, if the airline did not provide them. In the event of a cancellation, a long delay or denied boarding, it is obliged to provide you with food and drinks in proportion to the waiting time and, when you need to stay overnight, a hotel and transport between the airport and the hotel. If it did not do so and you paid yourself, you can ask for the costs back.
The costs must be necessary and reasonable, so keep your receipts and invoices. This right is separate from compensation and is owed even when no compensation is due because of extraordinary circumstances.
Missed prepaid services of the trip itself - for example accommodation at your holiday destination, excursions or a prepaid transfer - are not part of this right to care and are assessed separately. See what else the airline owes you.
If you want to get compensation without wasting time and without any financial risk, an agency is the safer choice. You can file a claim yourself, but in practice airlines often refuse compensation or delay their response, counting on the passenger giving up the claim, and an incomplete or inaccurate claim leads to requests for clarification and new documents.
An agency like Aeroisk prepares the case properly from the start, handles all communication and negotiations with the airline and, if necessary, brings arbitration proceedings or a court case entirely at its own expense. You pay only if the compensation is paid.
Before you sign, check a few things:
Yes, in some cases. If the flight departed from an airport in the EU, Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applies regardless of the airline you fly with. If the flight departed from outside the EU and landed in the EU, the Regulation applies only when the flight is operated by an EU airline. Flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are treated as flights within the EU.
If the flight is entirely outside the EU, the European regulation does not apply, but some countries - for example the United Kingdom and Turkey - have their own rules on passenger rights and compensation. See which flights can qualify for compensation.
You can see the status of your claim at any time in your personal profile on the website, and whenever something changes we send you an email with detailed information about the stage and what comes next.
Each claim takes a different amount of time, depending on whether the airline accepts or rejects the claim, whether it responds at all and what further steps are needed. The European Commission recommends that airlines respond to a request within 2 months. When the matter goes to a regulator, arbitration or court, the procedure usually takes months.
Once the airline pays, we transfer the amount due to you within three days. If you have a question about your specific case, you can contact us by phone, Viber, WhatsApp or Messenger.
+359 52 580499
+359 877 63 88 01
office@aeroisk.com
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+359 52 580499
