10 Reasons Airlines Reject Compensation Claims (And Why They're Wrong)

1. "The delay was caused by a technical fault"

Airlines like to describe an unexpected technical problem as beyond their control. The Court of Justice disagreed in Wallentin-Hermann (2008) and again in van der Lans (2015): technical faults are inherent in operating an aircraft and are within the airline's control, even when they appear without warning. The only exceptions are hidden manufacturing defects announced by the manufacturer or an authority, and damage caused by sabotage or terrorism.

2. "Knock-on delay from an earlier flight"

A late inbound aircraft is the single most common cause of delays — and it is the airline's rotation planning that created the dependency. In TAP v Flightright (C-74/19, 2020) the Court held that an earlier disruption only counts as extraordinary if that earlier event was itself extraordinary and the airline took all reasonable measures, such as keeping reserve aircraft and crew.

3. "Bad weather"

Weather can be extraordinary — but the airline must show it affected your flight. A generic "adverse weather in Europe" does not explain why other flights from the same airport departed on time. Ask for the specific meteorological restriction (a METAR report, a de-icing queue, a ground stop) and the time it applied.

4. "Air traffic control restrictions"

A genuine ATC decision (a slot restriction, an airspace closure) is extraordinary. But an ATC delay of 40 minutes does not excuse a 3-hour arrival delay caused by the airline then losing its crew to duty-hour limits. Airlines must minimise the consequences of an extraordinary event, and a reasonable airline plans buffer for common ATC delays.

5. "Strike"

A strike by the airline's own pilots, cabin crew or ground staff is part of the normal exercise of its business and does not excuse compensation (Krüsemann, 2018; Airhelp v SAS, 2021). Only strikes by third parties — air traffic controllers, airport security, baggage handlers employed by the airport — qualify as extraordinary.

6. "You were notified more than 14 days in advance"

The burden of proving when you were notified is on the airline (Krijgsman, 2017). An email sent to a travel agent that never reached you does not count. Check the date on the actual message you received; if it is inside 14 days, compensation is due.

7. "You arrived less than three hours late"

Arrival means doors-open, not touchdown, and the delay is measured at the final destination of the whole booking. Airlines sometimes quote the landing time of the first leg. Check the actual door-open time and, for connections, the arrival time at the last airport on your ticket.

8. "Your ticket was free / a reward booking / bought through an agent"

Only tickets that were free and not available to the public (staff travel, for example) are excluded. Frequent-flyer redemptions, package-holiday flights and agent bookings are all covered. The passenger, not the booker, is entitled to the money.

9. "We offered you a voucher / you accepted re-routing"

Compensation must be paid in cash (bank transfer or cheque) unless you sign an agreement to accept vouchers. Accepting the alternative flight the airline offered does not waive compensation — re-routing is a separate right under Article 8.

10. "The claim is time-barred"

Time limits are set by national law and range from one year (Poland) to six (UK, Ireland). Airlines occasionally quote the shortest limit in the EU regardless of where your case would actually be heard. Check the limit for the relevant country before accepting a refusal.

What to do with a rejection

Reply in writing, cite the relevant ruling, and ask the airline to state the specific facts it relies on — the fault code, the ATC restriction, the weather report. Airlines often drop the excuse when asked for evidence. If not, escalate to the national enforcement body or let a no-win-no-fee service such as ours take it to court: our team handles rejections every day, and checking your case is free.

Reading a Rejection Letter

Airline rejections follow templates. Learning to read them tells you how strong the airline's position is. A letter that names a specific cause with a time ("air traffic control imposed a 47-minute slot delay at 06:15 due to staffing in Reims ACC") is a real defence that will need to be tested against Eurocontrol data. A letter that speaks in generalities ("adverse weather conditions in the network", "operational reasons", "circumstances beyond our control") is a placeholder; airlines send these to everyone and drop them when challenged with evidence. A letter that does not mention the cause at all and simply says the claim "does not meet the criteria" usually means nobody looked at it.

How to Reply

Keep it short, cite the law and ask for evidence. A reply that works: "Thank you for your response. Under Regulation 261/2004 the burden of proving extraordinary circumstances lies with the operating carrier (Article 5(3); Wallentin-Hermann). Please provide the operational record for flight XX123 on [date], including the reason code filed with the airport and the ATC restriction reference you rely on. If this is not provided within 14 days I will refer the matter to [enforcement body / ADR scheme] and, if necessary, the courts." Airlines answer this letter differently from the first one.

Three Rejections That Are Actually Right

Not every refusal is a bluff. You will not win if (1) the flight departed from outside Europe on a non-European airline, whatever the delay; (2) your arrival delay was under three hours by the door-open time; or (3) the airline can document a real third-party event — a controllers' strike, a runway closure, a security alert — that applied to your flight, and it re-routed you as fast as reasonably possible afterwards. In those cases the claim is for care and expenses, not compensation.

When to Stop Arguing and Escalate

Two exchanges are enough. If the second reply still lacks evidence, further letters only consume your limitation period. Escalate to the national enforcement body or ADR scheme, or hand the case to a claims service that will litigate. Airlines track which passengers escalate; a court filing changes the file's priority in a way that a fifth email never will.

A Rejection Decoder

None of these letters is the end of the process. In our experience, the outcome of a claim is decided far more by whether the passenger escalates than by the wording of the first refusal.