Does EU261 cover an Air Algérie flight delay from Algiers?
Air Algérie flight delay compensation pays €250 or €400 per passenger under EU261 when your flight left an EU airport and you landed three or more hours late. A flight from Algiers to Europe is not covered, because Air Algérie holds no EU licence. There, the Montreal Convention can still cover costs the delay caused.
Air Algérie flies from Algiers, Oran and Constantine to France, Spain, Italy and further. It is an Algerian airline without an EU operating licence.
Your rights therefore depend on which way you were flying, and that is the point people miss when a claim is refused.
What a delayed flight pays
Amounts are per passenger, not per booking. A delay of 3–4 hours over 3,500 km may be reduced by half under Article 7(2).
Which direction of an Air Algérie trip does EU261 cover?
| Air Algérie flight | EU261 | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving Paris, Lyon, Marseille or any EU airport | Applies in full | It covers every EU departure, whoever operates the flight |
| Leaving Algiers for Europe | Does not apply | The flight left a non-EU airport on a non-EU airline |
The outbound and return legs of one trip can sit under different rules. Where the regulation applies, the sums are €250 up to 1,500 km and €400 between 1,500 and 3,500 km.
Algeria to France sits in those bands, so a three-hour delay out of Paris is worth real money. Compensation is owed per passenger, and a family multiplies it.
Does EU261 cover a flight from Algiers to Paris?
Not under the regulation. It reaches an inbound flight from outside Europe only when an EU airline operates it, and Air Algérie is licensed in Algeria.
Write anyway if you were out of pocket. The Montreal Convention covers costs a delay actually caused, and the airline's conditions of carriage may promise meals and a hotel. Keep the boarding pass, the receipts and any message the airline sent you.
How do you claim Air Algérie flight delay compensation?
Start with the flight itself. Our free flight check reads the recorded departure and arrival times and tells you which band your Air Algérie flight falls in.
A Air Algérie compensation claim turns on two things: the arrival time, and the reason the airline gives.
For a late arrival, read the flight delay compensation guide. For a flight that never flew, read the cancellation compensation guide. It covers Air Algérie cancellation compensation too. Has the airline said no? The case law summary sets out what the courts make of the usual excuses.
Check what you're owed
What you need to claim
- Your flight number and date
- The airports you flew between
- Roughly how late you arrived
- Your booking reference, if you still have it
No boarding pass? We can usually work from the flight number and date alone.