Flight Compensation by Country: Know Your Time Limits

Which country's deadline applies?

The Court of Justice ruled in Cuadrench Moré (2012) that the time limit for EU261 claims is governed by the national law of the court hearing the case. In practice you can usually sue in the country of departure, the country of arrival, or the country where the airline is established (Rehder, 2009). That means you can often choose the more generous jurisdiction. A Frankfurt–Dublin flight on Ryanair, for example, can be pursued in Germany (three years) or Ireland (six years).

Time limits by country

These are the periods applied by the courts in each country; some are still debated, and limits can be interrupted by a formal claim or court filing. When in doubt, file sooner.

Does contacting the airline stop the clock?

Usually not. In most countries only a court filing (or, in some, a formal claim to the enforcement body or an ADR scheme) interrupts the limitation period. An airline that takes eight months to answer your emails has used up eight months of your deadline. If the deadline is close, escalate rather than wait.

Old flights are still worth claiming

Airlines keep flight records for years, and passengers rarely realise a 2021 or 2022 disruption is still claimable in the UK, Ireland, France or Spain. If you flew from any of those countries within the last five or six years and arrived three hours late, it costs nothing to check.

Choosing the Best Jurisdiction

Because the limitation period depends on where the case is heard, the choice of court is often the single most important decision in an older claim. Under the Brussels I regulation and the CJEU's Rehder ruling, a passenger can sue at the place of departure, the place of arrival or the airline's seat. A German passenger with a two-year-old Ryanair flight from Berlin to Dublin therefore has two options: German courts (three years, counted from year-end — still open) or Irish courts (six years). A Dutch passenger with a three-year-old KLM flight has run out of time in the Netherlands (two years) but may still sue at the destination if it was, say, London (six years).

What Interrupts the Clock

Old Claims We Still Take

FlyHelp accepts claims for flights up to six years old where a six-year jurisdiction is available (UK and Ireland departures or arrivals, Irish and British airlines), up to five years for France and Spain, and up to three years for Germany and Austria. For shorter-limit countries we check whether an alternative forum is open before saying no. The assessment is free — submit the flight even if you think it is too old.

How the Clock Runs in Practice

Limitation periods run from the date of the flight, not from the airline's refusal. In Germany the period is three years but is counted from 31 December of the flight year, so a January 2024 flight has almost four years while a December 2024 flight has just over three. In England and Wales the six years run from the day of the flight. In France and Spain the five-year period can be interrupted by a formal written claim in some circumstances, but courts have not been consistent, so a court filing before the deadline remains the safe course. For flights disrupted in late 2023, that means: Netherlands and Italy are closed or closing, Germany is open until the end of 2026, and the UK, Ireland, France and Spain remain open for years.

Two Passengers, Same Flight, Different Deadlines

Two friends fly Amsterdam–London on KLM in March 2024 and arrive four hours late. One lives in Rotterdam and sues in the Netherlands: the two-year limit expires in March 2026. The other lives in Manchester and sues at the place of arrival, London: six years, until March 2030. Same flight, same airline, same delay — the forum decides the deadline. This is why we always check every available jurisdiction before saying a claim is too old.