--- title: "Bulgaria Air Flight Delay and Cancellation Compensation" url: https://flightcompensations.com/airlines/bulgaria-air author: "Jaacov Sonenblick" published: 2026-09-04 updated: 2026-10-06 publisher: FlightCompensations summary: "Bulgaria Air is Bulgaria's flag carrier and an EU airline, so EU261 covers its flights both ways — claims run from EUR 250 to EUR 600 per passenger." --- # Bulgaria Air flight delay and cancellation compensation Bulgaria Air is Bulgaria's flag carrier and an EU airline, so EU261 covers its flights both ways — claims run from EUR 250 to EUR 600 per passenger. **Bulgaria Air flight delay** compensation **pays** €250 to €600 per passenger under EU261. You qualify if you arrive three or more hours late, if Bulgaria Air cancels with less than 14 days' notice, or if it denies you boarding. As a Bulgarian airline with an EU licence, it owes this on flights into and out of the EU. ## Is a Bulgaria Air flight into Sofia from outside the EU covered? Bulgaria Air is Bulgaria's flag carrier, hubbed at **Sofia** and connecting Bulgaria with European cities and destinations around the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. It holds a Bulgarian operating licence, which makes it an **EU carrier** and gives EU261 its full reach: - **Departures from any EU/EEA airport** are covered, whoever operates the flight - **Arrivals into the EU/EEA from outside it** are covered because Bulgaria Air holds an EU licence - **Departures from the UK, and arrivals into the UK** on Bulgaria Air fall under UK261, in sterling Because the network extends beyond the EU into the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean, the direction rule matters: an outbound flight from Sofia is protected on departure, while an inbound leg from a non-EU country is protected because the operating carrier is an EU airline. Compensation is triggered by arriving at your **final destination three or more hours late**, a **cancellation announced with under 14 days' notice**, or being **denied boarding** on an oversold flight when you checked in on time. ## How much you could receive The amount is fixed by route distance, not by the price of the ticket. - **EUR 250** — flights of 1,500 km or less, such as Sofia to Vienna or Athens - **EUR 400** — intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and any other flight between 1,500 and 3,500 km - **EUR 600** — remaining flights over 3,500 km, reached only at the edges of the network UK261 claims use **GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520**. Each passenger with a confirmed reservation is paid separately, and the fare and cabin make no difference. Under **Article 7(2)** the top figure may be halved where a long-haul re-routing arrives less than four hours late. ## When Bulgaria Air doesn't have to pay There is no compensation where the disruption was caused by **extraordinary circumstances** that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures — severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, airport closures, security alerts or a bird strike. - **The airline carries the burden of proof.** A one-line message citing "operational reasons" is an assertion, not evidence, and an unsupported claim of bad weather can be tested against the recorded conditions. - **A strike by Bulgaria Air's own crew is generally not extraordinary**, following EU case law that treats staff disputes as part of running an airline. Strikes by third parties — air-traffic controllers, airport handlers — usually are. Routine technical faults found during ordinary maintenance normally remain the airline's responsibility. The right to care — meals, communications and a hotel overnight — survives even where compensation does not. ## How do you claim from Bulgaria Air and escalate if refused? Keep the booking reference, boarding passes, and any message announcing the delay or cancellation. Ask, in writing, for the reason. Note the actual arrival time at your final destination, and keep receipts for anything you paid for yourself. Response times vary between airlines and between individual claims, and tend to lengthen after mass-disruption events. If a claim is refused without a proper explanation, it can be escalated to the national enforcement body in the country of departure — the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Administration for Sofia departures — or pursued in court within the local time limit. ## 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. ## How to claim Bulgaria Air compensation Start with the flight itself. Our [free flight check](/claim) reads the recorded times for your Bulgaria Air flight and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes. For the law behind the figure, the [flight delay compensation guide](/flight-delay-compensation) covers arrival delays and the [cancellation compensation guide](/flight-cancellation-compensation) covers a flight that never operated. If Bulgaria Air has already refused you, the [case law summary](/passenger-rights/case-law) sets out what the courts have said about the usual excuses. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does my fare type change what I can claim from Bulgaria Air? No. EU261 compensation is set by route distance alone, so an economy fare, a discounted fare and a flexible fare all produce the same EUR 250, EUR 400 or EUR 600. Airline terms and conditions cannot lawfully reduce or exclude the statutory entitlement. ### My Bulgaria Air flight into Sofia came from a non-EU country. Am I covered? Yes, when it is operated by Bulgaria Air or another EU-licensed carrier. EU261 protects arrivals into the EU/EEA from third countries where the operating airline holds an EU licence, and Bulgaria Air's is Bulgarian. An inbound leg from the Middle East or the eastern Mediterranean is therefore protected in the same way as a departure from Sofia. ### Bulgaria Air offered me a voucher instead of cash. Do I have to accept it? No. Compensation under EU261 is payable in money, and you can only be given a voucher if you agree to it in writing. Accepting one may be treated as settling the claim, so it is worth checking the value against the statutory amount for your distance band before you agree to anything. ## Sources - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32004R0261 - https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/delays-and-cancellations/ - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-402/07 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-549/07 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-195/17 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-452/13 Read the full page with the claim check at https://flightcompensations.com/airlines/bulgaria-air