Brussels Airlines flight delay and cancellation compensation

Your rights on a Brussels Airlines flight

Brussels Airlines is Belgium's flag carrier, based at Brussels and part of the Lufthansa Group. It holds a Belgian operating licence, which makes it an EU carrier, so EU261 reaches both directions:

• Departures from any EU/EEA airport — covered whoever operates the flight
• Arrivals into the EU/EEA from a third country — covered because Brussels Airlines is an EU airline, which brings its African and North American inbound flights inside the regulation
• UK routes — UK261 applies to departures from the UK and to arrivals into the UK on Brussels Airlines

The airline is known for its network to sub-Saharan Africa, and those inbound long-haul flights are protected by EU261 in a way the same routes on a non-EU carrier would not be. The claim follows the operating carrier.

How much you could receive

Compensation is due when you arrive at your final destination three or more hours late, when a flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, or when you are denied boarding on an oversold flight after checking in on time.

• EUR 250 — routes of 1,500 km or less, such as Brussels to Frankfurt
• EUR 400 — intra-EU routes over 1,500 km and other routes of 1,500 to 3,500 km
• EUR 600 — routes over 3,500 km, covering the African and North American network

Article 7(2) allows the top band to be halved where a re-routed long-haul flight arrives under four hours late. UK261 uses GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520. The amount is fixed by distance, not the fare, and each passenger on the booking claims separately.

When Brussels Airlines doesn't have to pay

No compensation is due where the airline proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures — severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, airport closures, security incidents or bird strikes.

The burden of proof is on the airline, and an unevidenced line about "operational reasons" is not a defence. A strike by Brussels Airlines's own pilots or cabin crew is 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.

How to claim from Brussels Airlines

Keep the booking reference, boarding passes, the disruption notice, and receipts for anything you paid for yourself. Note the actual arrival time at your final destination.

Response times vary and lengthen after mass-disruption events. If a claim is refused without proper substantiation, it can be escalated to Belgium's national enforcement body for air passenger rights, to the enforcement body of the departure state elsewhere in the EU, or taken to court within the local limitation period.

What it costs

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.