Air India flight delay and cancellation compensation

Air India flight delay compensation is up to €600 per passenger, or £520 from the UK, on flights leaving an EU/EEA or UK airport. You can claim if you reach your final destination three or more hours late, or if Air India cancels with less than 14 days' notice. Flights from India into Europe fall outside both schemes.

Is an Air India flight from Delhi into London covered?

Air India is the flag carrier of India, a member of the Star Alliance, flying long-haul routes between India and Europe, North America and Asia. It is not an EU or UK carrier, so your rights depend on the airport you leave from, not on the airline.

Because Air India holds no EU or UK licence, protection attaches to the departure airport only:

• Departing any EU/EEA airport on Air India — EU261 applies, as it does to any operating carrier leaving Europe.
• Departing the UK on Air India — UK261 applies.
• Arriving into the EU/EEA or the UK from India — not covered, because Air India is not a Community carrier. Inbound flights need an EU airline under EU261, or a UK or EU airline under UK261.

A London, Paris, Frankfurt or Milan departure to India is protected; the same route flown from India into Europe is not. Because these are long-haul services, most eligible claims reach the highest band.

How much is an Air India flight delay from Europe to India worth?

The sum is set by route distance, not by the fare or the cabin, and each passenger with a confirmed booking claims separately.

• EUR 250 — flights of 1,500 km or less
• EUR 400 — flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km
• EUR 600 — flights over 3,500 km, which covers most Air India departures from Europe to India

UK261 claims use GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520. Under Article 7(2), the airline may halve the top figure where a re-routed long-haul flight arrives under four hours late, so the arrival time at your final destination is worth checking.

When Air India doesn't have to pay

Compensation falls away where the airline proves extraordinary circumstances outside its control and unavoidable even with all reasonable measures — severe weather, ATC restrictions, airport closures, security incidents or a bird strike.

Two things are commonly misstated:

• Air India must prove the defence. An unexplained "operational reasons" or weather line is not evidence, and should be tested against the conditions actually recorded that day.
• Own-crew strikes are generally not extraordinary, whereas strikes by air-traffic controllers or third-party airport staff usually are.

Routine technical faults found during ordinary maintenance normally remain the airline's responsibility, even when described as unforeseeable.

How do you claim from Air India after a missed connection?

Keep the booking reference, boarding passes for each leg, and any email or app notification of the change. For a missed connection, record the actual arrival time at your final destination rather than the delay on the first sector.

We handle the submission, the follow-up and any appeal, and we tell you plainly if a defence is likely to hold.

What does an Air India claim cost?

The eligibility check is free. If we recover your compensation we charge a fixed EUR 39 success fee — the same whether you're owed EUR 250 or EUR 600 — and the airline's payment goes to you. No win, no fee.

How to claim Air India compensation

Start with the flight itself. Our free flight check reads the recorded times for your Air India flight and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes.

For the law behind the figure, the flight delay compensation guide covers arrival delays and the cancellation compensation guide covers a flight that never operated. If Air India has already refused you, the case law summary sets out what the courts have said about the usual excuses.