Turkish Airlines Flight Compensation — Claim Up to €600

About Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines (TK) is the flag carrier of Türkiye and, by number of countries served, the most widely-flown airline in the world. Its hub is Istanbul Airport, with a secondary base at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, and it operates a fleet of more than 400 Airbus and Boeing aircraft to over 340 destinations.

Turkish Airlines Flight Delay Compensation

If your Turkish Airlines flight arrived at its final destination 3 or more hours late and the cause was within the airline's control, you are entitled to compensation under EU261 (or UK261 for flights from the UK). The amount depends on the distance of the journey:

Turkish Airlines Flight Cancellation Compensation

If Turkish Airlines cancelled your flight less than 14 days before departure and cannot prove extraordinary circumstances, the same amounts apply — whether or not you took the replacement flight. You are additionally entitled to a refund or re-routing, and to meals and a hotel while you wait.

Which Turkish Airlines Flights Are Covered

Turkish Airlines is not an EU airline, so EU261 applies only in one direction: to flights departing from an EU, EEA or UK airport. London–Istanbul, Frankfurt–Istanbul or Paris–Antalya on TK are covered; Istanbul–London is not — unless the disruption began on a covered leg of the same booking.

Flights from Turkish airports are governed by Türkiye's own passenger-rights regulation (SHY-Yolcu), which mirrors EU261's structure and amounts. We can help with SHY-Yolcu claims too, but the eligibility check on this site is for EU/UK-departure flights.

Connections through Istanbul

Most European passengers on Turkish Airlines are connecting in Istanbul to Asia, Africa or the Middle East on a single ticket. If the first leg departed from the EU/UK and you arrived at your final destination three or more hours late — even if the delay happened on the second leg — the whole journey is assessed under EU261 (Folkerts, C-11/11). Because these itineraries are long, most Turkish Airlines claims fall into the €600 / £520 tier.

What to expect

• Turkish Airlines takes claims through its Feedback form and typically answers within 4–8 weeks.
• The most common rejection reasons are "operational reasons" and "air traffic control at Istanbul" — the first is never extraordinary and the second must be proven for your specific flight.
• Codeshare tickets sold by Turkish Airlines but operated by a European partner (Lufthansa, LOT, SWISS) are covered in both directions, because the operating carrier is European.

Turkish Airlines Compensation: Key Facts

Detail	Information
Airline code	TK
Country	Türkiye
Main hub(s)	Istanbul Airport (IST)
Group / alliance	Star Alliance
Covered flights	All departures from EU/EEA/UK airports
Max compensation	€600 / £520 per passenger
Claim window	Depends on the country of the court — 6 years in the UK and Ireland, 3 in Germany
Our fee	No win, no fee — 35% of the compensation, court included

Turkish Airlines Routes and Typical Claim Values

Route	Distance	Per passenger
London Heathrow – Istanbul	≈ 2,500 km	£350 (UK261)
Frankfurt – Istanbul	≈ 1,870 km	€400
Paris CDG – Istanbul – Bangkok (one booking)	≈ 9,450 km	€600
Berlin – Antalya	≈ 2,250 km	€400
Istanbul – Amsterdam	≈ 2,200 km	Not covered by EU261 (non-EU departure, non-EU airline)

How to Claim From Turkish Airlines Yourself

1. Collect the facts: booking reference, flight number, date, scheduled and actual arrival time (door-open), and every message Turkish Airlines sent about the disruption.
2. Submit a written claim through the Feedback form on turkishairlines.com (Help Center → Feedback → "Flight irregularity / compensation"), quoting your PNR. Quote "Regulation (EC) 261/2004" (or UK261 for UK departures), the article — Art. 5 for cancellations, Art. 6/7 for delays, Art. 4 for denied boarding — and the amount per passenger. Ask for payment by bank transfer and state that you decline vouchers.
3. Wait 4–8 weeks for the reply. If it cites extraordinary circumstances, reply once asking for the operational evidence (reason code, ATC regulation reference, weather report).
4. Escalate to the enforcement body or ADR scheme named below if the airline refuses or goes quiet — or hand the case to us at any point; the 35% fee is the same whether we start on day one or after your own rejection.

Escalation routes: the enforcement body of the EU departure country (for example the CAA for UK departures via PACT, the LBA in Germany); courts of the departure country, where jurisdiction is clear because the flight left from there. Turkish Airlines is not a member of the UK ADR schemes.

Turkish Airlines and Türkiye's Own Rules

For flights departing Turkish airports, passengers have rights under Türkiye's SHY-Yolcu regulation, administered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM). It mirrors EU261's structure: compensation for cancellations without 14 days' notice and for delays at destination, with amounts of €100–€600 depending on distance and whether the flight is domestic or international. It is enforced less consistently than EU261, and claims are made to the airline or through Turkey's consumer arbitration committees. If your problem was on the Istanbul-to-Europe leg of a booking that began in Europe, EU261 still applies to the whole journey; if the booking began in Istanbul, SHY-Yolcu is the route.

Example Turkish Airlines Cases

• London–Istanbul delayed 3 h 40 min by a technical fault at Heathrow: £350 per passenger, accepted.
• Frankfurt–Istanbul–Manila, feeder delayed 50 minutes, arrival in Manila 19 hours late: €600 per passenger (whole-journey distance, EU departure), paid after a German court filing.
• Istanbul–Vienna cancelled due to Istanbul fog: not covered by EU261 (non-EU departure); pursued under SHY-Yolcu, with care expenses refunded.