In case of disruption

When your flight is affected by disruption, your airline must take care of you and get you to your destination. Once the disruption has been resolved, you might also be able to claim costs or compensation. This page explains how to do so.

Does the law apply to your flight?

The information on this page only applies to flights covered by EU law. These must be either:

departing from an EU airport and operated by any airline
or
arriving at an EU airport and operated by an EU airline

Under this law, EU airports also include those in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Can you claim?

If your flight is covered by EU law, there are two main situations in which you are legally entitled to payment from your airline:

Reimbursement for care and assistance. If you paid for food, drink or accommodation that your airline should have provided, you can claim reasonable costs back.
Compensation for the disruption. If the delay was severe and could have been avoided by the airline, the law sets out fixed levels of compensation you should receive.

To determine whether you are eligible for either type of payment, you should review your rights carefully.

Learn about your rights when flights are disrupted

Check the circumstances

In particular, the law is specific about compensation. If the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances, then you will not be entitled to compensation, as long as the airline took reasonable measures to avoid the disruption.

Learn more about extraordinary circumstances

To avoid wasting your time, make sure you understand your rights before you contact your airline.

Contact your airline directly

If you believe you have a case, you should contact your airline directly.
Many airlines will have a claims procedure for you to follow. Often, a standard claim form is available. If so, using it will ensure you provide all the information the airline needs to process your claim.

You can usually find the best way to put in a claim by calling the airline or checking its website.

If no standard procedure is available, it may be best to make initial contact by email, so you have a record of the communication. You can also send a letter – always keep a copy, if you decide to do this.

Your airline will probably need detailed information to process your claim.

Find out how to write a good claim

Waiting for the outcome

It can take some time for the airline to process your claim. If the disruption was severe, the airline's claims team might be busy.
However, in time you should receive a response. If the airline believes your claim is valid then they will probably include a cheque. If they decline your claim then they should explain why.

What to do if your claim is rejected

How to escalate your complaint!

If you have had a claim for compensation or reimbursement rejected by an airline, don't give up. We can provide help to and help you receive what EU law entitles you to.

How to raise a complaint with the ICETRA

You can use this form to raise a complaint. The service is completely free.

The form will collect information from you and then tell you if we can help. Assuming we can, we will investigate further. When appropriate, we will contact your airline directly to resolve your claim.

When the form has been filled out send it with all correspondence to email: consumers@icetra.is