Corsair International flight delay and cancellation compensation

Your rights on a Corsair flight

Corsair International is a long-haul airline licensed in France, flying from Paris Orly to the French Caribbean, Réunion, Mauritius, Madagascar and West Africa. That French licence makes it an EU carrier, and EU261 therefore covers its network in both directions:

• Departing any EU/EEA airport — Orly, but also Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion, which are EU territory — EU261 applies.
• Arriving into the EU/EEA from outside it — Mauritius to Paris, Abidjan to Paris — EU261 also applies, because the operating carrier is EU-licensed.
• Any UK departure or arrival would fall under UK261, the retained British equivalent.

Compensation is triggered by arriving at your final destination three or more hours late, a cancellation announced with less than 14 days' notice, or involuntary denied boarding when you presented yourself on time.

How much you could receive

The amount depends on route distance, never on the fare:

• EUR 250 — flights of 1,500 km or less, which barely feature in Corsair's schedule
• EUR 400 — flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km, and all intra-EU flights over 1,500 km. Orly to Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France or Réunion counts as intra-EU because those islands are French departments, so these very long routes sit in the EUR 400 band.
• EUR 600 — other flights over 3,500 km, such as Paris to Mauritius, Antananarivo or Abidjan

Every passenger with a confirmed seat claims separately, so a family returning from the Antilles can multiply the figure. On EUR 600 routes the amount can be halved if rerouting still gets you in under four hours late.

When Corsair doesn't have to pay

Extraordinary circumstances — hurricanes in the Caribbean, cyclones over the Indian Ocean, air-traffic-control restrictions, airport closures — remove compensation only when the airline proves they were unavoidable despite all reasonable measures.

The burden of proof is on Corsair. A strike by its own crew is generally not extraordinary; strikes by air-traffic controllers or airport handlers usually are. Routine technical faults, including those found in ordinary maintenance, remain the airline's responsibility.

How to claim from Corsair

Keep your booking reference, boarding passes and every delay or cancellation message, and ask in writing for the cause of the disruption. Long-haul claims justify persistence: the sums are large and refusals deserve scrutiny. We submit the claim, chase it, and escalate to the French civil aviation authority or to court if Corsair's defence does not hold.

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.