Does EU261 cover an Edelweiss Air flight delay from Switzerland?
Edelweiss Air flight delay compensation pays €250 to €600 per passenger when you arrive three or more hours late. Switzerland is outside the EU, but it applies EU261 through its air transport agreement with the EU. A flight from Zurich therefore carries the same thresholds and amounts as one from any EU airport, with €600 on long-haul routes.
Edelweiss is the leisure airline of the Lufthansa Group's Swiss arm, flying holiday routes from Zurich. Switzerland is not in the EU, which usually narrows a passenger's rights — here it does not, because Switzerland applies EU261 through its air transport agreement with the European Union.
In practice that means:
- Departing Zurich or any Swiss airport — the EU261 rules apply, with the same thresholds and the same amounts.
- Departing any EU or EEA airport — covered in the ordinary way.
- Departing the UK — UK261 applies instead, in sterling.
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).
How much is a delayed Edelweiss long-haul flight worth?
Edelweiss flies a mixed network, and the long-haul half of it sits in the highest compensation band:
| Route distance | Compensation per passenger |
|---|---|
| Over 3,500 km — the Caribbean, East Africa, North and South America | €600 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | €400 |
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 |
On a delay, Article 7(2) lets the airline halve the payment only on a route over 3,500 km delivered between three and four hours late. Past four hours the full amount stands. After a cancellation with a replacement flight, the same reduction can apply in any band. Every passenger on the booking is owed separately.
Does an Edelweiss package holiday change your claim?
Much of what Edelweiss carries is sold inside a package. That does not reduce your claim against the airline: the flight is a flight, and EU261 applies to it whoever sold the trip.
It may also give you a second, separate claim against the tour operator for the part of the holiday you lost. The two answer different things and are made to different companies. Our guide to package holiday compensation sets out how they sit alongside each other.
What should you record when an Edelweiss flight lands late?
Ask for the cause in writing before leaving the airport, keep the boarding passes, and record when the doors opened rather than when the aircraft touched down. On a long-haul leisure route the difference between two hours fifty and three hours five is €600 a head.
How do you claim Edelweiss flight delay compensation?
Start with the flight itself. Our free flight check reads the recorded departure and arrival times for your Edelweiss flight and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes.
A Edelweiss compensation claim turns on the arrival time and on the reason the airline gives, so read both before you write. The flight delay compensation guide sets out the bands, and the cancellation compensation guide covers Edelweiss cancellation compensation for a flight that never operated. If the airline refuses, the case law summary sets out what the courts have accepted as an excuse and what they have thrown out.
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.