How long do you have to claim flight compensation?
There is no single worldwide deadline. Claim timing differs across the passenger-rights rules Travaro supports — and the deadline to contact the airline may not be the same as the deadline for a complaint or court case.
At a glance
Claim timing
Canada
Delay or cancellation claim before the first anniversary
Saudi Arabia
Passenger-rights complaint within 60 days
EU
Current court deadline depends on national law
Best approach
Start early and keep proof of every submission
A long court deadline does not mean you should wait to contact the airline.
Quick answer
Do not assume you can claim forever
Canada gives passengers one year to make an APPR compensation request for a qualifying delay or cancellation. Saudi Arabia requires passenger-rights complaints to be filed with the airline within 60 days. Current EU rules do not set one EU-wide court deadline, and UK court limits differ between England and Wales and Scotland.
Türkiye uses a different complaint process: contact the operating airline first, then SHGM says you can escalate if the airline has not replied within six weeks or you are unhappy with its response. The simplest rule for passengers is the same everywhere: start the claim early.
On this page
Why deadlines differ
“The deadline” can actually mean several different dates
A passenger may have one date for asking the airline for compensation and another date for escalating the dispute or starting court action. Keep those steps separate.
The deadline to ask the airline for compensation
Some passenger-rights rules set a specific time for sending the compensation request to the airline. Canada is a clear example for delay and cancellation claims.
The deadline to complain or escalate
A regulator, complaint body or dispute service can have its own timing. That deadline can be different from the time allowed to make the original claim.
The deadline for court action
The final legal deadline can come from national law rather than the passenger-rights rules themselves. This is particularly important for current EU claims.
The practical deadline for your evidence
Even when the legal deadline is long, bookings, airline messages and receipts become harder to recover over time. Saving them early makes the claim easier to prove.
Claim timing by country or region
How long you have depends on the passenger-rights rules covering your flight
The passenger-rights systems Travaro supports do not use one common claim deadline. The examples below highlight key timing points under several of those systems.
Canada
APPR
Delay or cancellation compensation: claim before the first anniversary
For APPR compensation after a qualifying flight delay or cancellation, you must send the request to the airline before the first anniversary of the day the delay or cancellation happened. The airline then has 30 days to pay or explain why it believes compensation is not due. Denied-boarding compensation follows a different process and is normally paid much sooner.
European Union
EC261
There is no single current EU-wide court deadline
Under the EC261 rules applying today, the time limit for taking a compensation claim to court is set by the relevant country's national law. That means the deadline can differ depending on where the claim is brought. New EU rules introduce a nine-month compensation-request period, but those rules do not apply until 23 October 2027.
United Kingdom
UK261
Court deadlines differ within the UK
The UK Civil Aviation Authority says the legal limit for issuing a court claim is six years from the incident in England and Wales and five years in Scotland. That is a court deadline, not a reason to wait: the CAA recommends contacting the airline as soon as possible.
Saudi Arabia
GACA
File the complaint with the airline within 60 days
GACA's current passenger guidance says a complaint against the airline must be submitted within 60 days of the incident. The airline has up to seven days to address it. If it does not resolve the complaint, the passenger can escalate to GACA within the same regulatory period.
Türkiye
SHY-YOLCU
Complain to the airline first, then escalate if needed
Türkiye's aviation authority tells passengers to complain first to the airline that operated the flight. If the airline has not replied within six weeks, or you are not satisfied with its reply, you can send the complaint and supporting documents to SHGM. That six-week point is an escalation step, not a universal final court deadline.
Oman
Oman CAA
Airline reply period is not the claim deadline
Oman’s CAA says passengers should complain to the airline first, which should respond in writing within 15 working days. This response period is not a general last date for submitting a compensation claim.
Act early
The safest time to start a claim is well before the deadline
Waiting rarely helps. Starting early leaves more time to correct missing information, challenge a rejection or use the next complaint route if the airline does not resolve the claim.
Write down the date of the disrupted flight. Most time limits run from a specific event such as the delay, cancellation or scheduled journey date.
Send the compensation claim as soon as you have the basic journey details. You do not gain anything by waiting for the last months of a deadline.
Keep proof that the airline received your claim — for example a claim reference, confirmation email or screenshot.
If the airline rejects the claim or stops responding, check the next complaint, dispute-resolution or court deadline instead of assuming the original claim paused every time limit.
After you submit
The airline may also have a time limit to respond
Keep the date you filed the claim. In some countries, the next step becomes available after the airline's response period has passed.
Canada
30 days
For an APPR delay or cancellation compensation request, the airline must pay or explain why compensation is not payable within 30 days of receiving the request.
Saudi Arabia
Up to 7 days
GACA's passenger guidance says the airline should address a passenger-rights complaint within a maximum of seven days.
Türkiye
6 weeks
If the operating airline has not responded within six weeks, SHGM says the passenger can submit the complaint and supporting documents to the authority.
EU and UK
Do not wait indefinitely
Complaint and court procedures can have different timelines. Keep the airline's response date and check the next step promptly if the claim is rejected or unresolved.
What to keep
Keep proof of when the flight happened and when you made the claim
Claim deadlines are about dates. Save enough to show the flight date, submission date and what the airline did afterwards.
The disrupted flight date
Keep the original booking or itinerary showing the flight date, route and scheduled times.
Proof you submitted the claim
Save the airline's confirmation number, sent email or screenshot showing the date your claim was filed.
Every airline response
Keep replies, rejection letters and dates. Later complaint or court steps can depend on what happened after the original claim.
Your supporting travel records
Keep boarding passes, cancellation or delay messages, replacement itineraries and relevant receipts before they disappear from airline apps or email links.
Keep exploring
Related passenger-rights guides
Documents to keep
See which booking records, boarding documents, airline messages and receipts can support a compensation claim.
Read guideAirline rejected your claim
Learn what to check when an airline refuses compensation or your claim stops moving.
Read guideCancellation notice periods
Understand why the date an airline told you about a cancellation is different from the deadline for making a claim.
Read guideCheck your journey
Do not let a valid claim become a late claim
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