Fourteen days. That's the number most passengers vaguely remember hearing somewhere, but few actually understand how it works, when it applies, or what happens if the airline cuts it close instead of missing it entirely. Notice timing is one of the biggest factors in whether a cancelled flight qualifies for Flight Cancellation Compensation, so it's worth understanding properly rather than relying on guesswork.
Under EU261, being informed at least 14 days before departure generally means you are not entitled to cancellation compensation under Article 5, provided the other applicable rules are satisfied.
If you're informed less than 14 days before departure, compensation depends partly on the rerouting the airline offers.
If you're told between 7 and 14 days before departure, you may still avoid owing compensation if the airline offers a rebooking that departs no more than two hours before your original time and arrives less than four hours after it. Miss those margins, and compensation is likely owed.
This window trips up a lot of passengers, since the airline technically gave "notice," just not early enough to count as full notice, and not late enough to feel like an obvious violation either.
See also: How a Lawyer Can Help Maximize Your Compensation
Notice given less than a week before departure carries stricter conditions. The replacement flight must depart no more than one hour before the original time and reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled arrival time. Anything looser than that generally triggers compensation.
The clearest cases involve last-minute cancellations, sometimes announced at the airport itself or discovered only at check-in. These cancellations may qualify for compensation, unless the airline can establish an applicable extraordinary circumstance.
The airline bears the burden of proving whether and when you were informed of the cancellation. Keep the original notification, including its timestamp, along with your booking details and any later messages about the change.
If a claim is disputed, proof of when you were informed can be important in establishing whether compensation is due. The original booking confirmation showing your intended flight time establishes the baseline. The cancellation email or message, together with its timestamp and any other notification records, can help establish when you were informed. If the airline's records conflict with your own, keep copies of both so you can challenge the claimed notification time.
Flights up to 1,500 km - up to €250
EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km - up to €400
Flights over 3,500 km - up to €600
Even when the notice period would normally trigger compensation, the airline may avoid paying it if it proves that an extraordinary circumstance caused the cancellation and could not have been avoided with reasonable measures.
Airlines don't always keep passengers informed about when a cancellation decision was made internally versus when it was actually communicated, and that gap can matter for your claim. Some airlines also send notices through channels that are easy to miss or hard to later prove you received.
Comparing timestamps, flight schedules, and replacement-flight margins against airline records isn't something most passengers have easy access to. Lennuabi can help assess the available records, compare the cancellation notice with the applicable EU261 time window, and build the claim around the circumstances of your case.
Before deciding a cancellation isn't compensable, check exactly when you were notified and compare it against your original departure time. A few days, or even a few hours, can be the difference between no compensation and a valid claim.
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