Passengers rights

Required by Regulation 261/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
The rights referred to in this document apply in the following circumstances:
  • Your operating carrier is:
    - Air France or KLM or 
    - Delta Air Lines or Kenya Airways (when departing from an airport in the EU).
  • You have a confirmed reservation on the flight.
  • You are fully checked in at the time of the indicated check-in deadline or, if no time is indicated, no later than 45 minutes before the departure time.
  • You are traveling on a fare available to the public, or on a ticket issued under a frequent traveler program.
  • You are traveling on a flight departing from an airport within the European Union (EU).
Please note: if you are traveling on a flight departing from an airport in a third country (outside the EU), the rights described in this document apply only if you are traveling with a carrier from the EU and arriving at an airport located within the EU, and if no local regulation applies to departures from that third country.

1. Cancelation

1.1 Cancelation assistance

If your flight is canceled, you may choose between the following:
  • Rerouting to your final destination under comparable transport conditions as soon as possible as indicated by the carrier, or at a later date at your convenience, subject to the availability of seats
  • Reimbursement for the part, and/or parts, of your journey that were not made, and for the part, and/or parts, already made if you do not wish to continue with your initial travel plans and you wish to return to your first point of departure, as noted on your ticket
In addition, you will receive the following at no extra charge:
  • A meal or snack and/or refreshments, depending on your wait time
  • Hotel accommodation (related transport included) for cases in which an overnight stay is necessary
  • A pre-paid phone card (or reimbursement if requested for 2 phone calls, limited in duration to 5 minutes each) or 2 faxes or 2 emails

1.2 Cancelation compensation

In the event that your flight is canceled, you are entitled to compensation except in the following circumstances:
  • If the cancelation was due to extraordinary circumstances that could not be avoided. For example: bad weather conditions, political instability, strike, security concerns on the ground and/or in flight
  • If you were informed of the cancelation at least 2 weeks before your planned departure time
  • If you were informed of the cancelation between 2 weeks and 7 days before your planned departure time and you were offered an alternative flight that would have enabled you to depart up to a maximum of 2 hours before your original planned departure time and to arrive at your final destination less than 4 hours after your original planned arrival time
  • If you were informed of the cancelation at least 7 days before your planned departure time and you were offered an alternative flight that would have enabled you to depart up to a maximum of 1 hour before your original planned departure time and to arrive at your final destination less than 2 hours after your original planned arrival time
Compensation may be issued by check or bank transfer, or if you choose, in the form of a non-refundable transportation credit voucher. This cancelation compensation cannot be issued at the airport and therefore you need to contact customer service (see section 5).

Transportation credit voucher amounts (non-refundable):
- A – Flights up to 1,500 km: *€350
- B – Flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km, and all other flights
between 1,500 and 3,500 km: *€500
- C – Non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km: *€800

Compensation amounts (cash):
- A – Flights up to 1,500 km: *€250
- B – Flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km, and all other flights
between 1,500 and 3,500 km: *€400
- C – Non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km: *€600

* This transportation credit voucher amount / compensation may be reduced by 50% if the arrival time of the alternative flight does not exceed the initial scheduled arrival time by 2 hours (for flights under category A), 3 hours (for flights under category B) or 4 hours (for flights under category C).

2. Delay

2.1 Delay assistance

In case of a delay of more than 2 hours beyond the scheduled departure time, you will receive the following at no extra charge:
  • A meal or snack and/or refreshments, depending on your wait time
  • Hotel accommodation (related transport included) for cases in which an overnight stay is necessary
  • A pre-paid phone card (or reimbursement if requested for 2 phone calls, limited in duration to 5 minutes each) or 2 faxes or 2 emails
  • Cases in which such assistance would cause further delays are excluded
If your flight is delayed at least 5 hours and you do not wish to continue with your initial travel plans, you may obtain a reimbursement for the part, or parts, of the journey that were not made and/or the part or parts made if you would like to return to your first point of departure, indicated on your ticket.

2.2 Delay compensation

In case of a delay of at least 3 hours on arrival, you are entitled to compensation by check or bank transfer, or if you choose, in the form of a non-refundable transportation credit voucher, except in cases in which the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been anticipated by the airline and if the airline took all possible measures to avoid the delay.

This delay compensation cannot be issued at the airport and therefore you need to contact customer service (see section 5).

Transportation credit voucher amounts (non-refundable):
- A – Flights up to 1,500 km: *€350
- B – Flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km, and all other flights
between 1,500 and 3,500 km: *€500
- C – Non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km, with a delay of more than 4 hours: *€800

Compensation amounts (cash):
- A – Flights up to 1,500 km: *€250
- B – Flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km, and all other flights
between 1,500 and 3,500 km: *€400
- C – Non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km, with a delay of more than 4 hours: *€600

* This transportation credit voucher amount / compensation may be reduced by 50% for flights of more than 3,500 km if the arrival time of the delayed flight is between 3 and 4 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

3. Denied boarding

If AIR FRANCE/KLM expects to deny boarding in the event of an overbooked flight, the airline will call for volunteers who are willing to surrender their confirmed booking in exchange for an agreed-upon compensation in the form of transportation credit vouchers. AIR FRANCE/KLM also provides appropriate assistance to those passengers as described in paragraph 3.1 below.

If the number of volunteers required cannot be achieved and you are denied boarding against your will, you are entitled to assistance and compensation, provided that you have met the check-in time requirements (see below). You are not entitled to compensation if you were refused boarding for reasons related to health, security or inadequate travel documentation.

3.1 Denied boarding assistance

If you were denied boarding, you may choose between the following:
  • Rerouting to your final destination under comparable transport conditions as soon as possible as indicated by the carrier, or at a later date at your convenience, subject to the availability of seats
  • Reimbursement for the part, and/or parts, of your journey that were not made and for the part, and/or parts, already made if you do not wish to continue with your initial travel plans and you wish to return to your first point of departure, as noted on your ticket
In addition, you will receive the following at no extra charge:
  • A meal or snack and/or refreshments, depending on your wait time
  • Hotel accommodation (related transport included) for cases in which an overnight stay is necessary
  • A pre-paid phone card (or reimbursement if requested for 2 phone calls, limited in duration to 5 minutes each) or 2 faxes or 2 emails

3.2 Denied boarding compensation

If you are refused boarding, you are entitled to compensation, issued by check or bank transfer, or if you choose, in the form of a non-refundable transportation credit voucher. You are not entitled to compensation if you were refused boarding for reasons related to health, security or inadequate travel documentation.

Transportation credit voucher amounts (non-refundable):
- A – Flights up to 1,500 km: *€350
- B – Flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km, and all other flights
between 1,500 and 3,500 km: *€500
- C – Non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km: *€800

Compensation amounts (cash):
- A – Flights up to 1,500 km: *€250
- B – Flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km, and all other flights
between 1,500 and 3,500 km: *€400
- C – Non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km: *€600

* This transportation credit voucher amount / compensation may be reduced by 50% if the arrival time of the alternative flight does not exceed the initial scheduled arrival time by 2 hours (for flights under category A), 3 hours (for flights under category B) or 4 hours (for flights under category C).

4. Downgrading

If you are involuntarily placed in a lower class than that which is indicated on your ticket, you may request a reimbursement of the following:
  • 30% for all flights of 1,500 km or less
  • 50% for all flights of more than 1,500 km within the EU and all other flights
    between 1,500 km and 3,500 km
  • 75% of the ticket price for all non-EU flights of more than 3,500 km
In addition, AIR FRANCE/KLM will offer you a non-refundable credit voucher (goodwill compensation), according to your travel class.

5. Reimbursement requests,
compensation claims,
and other inquiries

As outlined above, if
  • your flight is canceled, or,
  • your flight is delayed more than 5 hours, or,
  • you have been denied boarding against your will,
and you do not wish to continue your journey, you may obtain a reimbursement, for the part and/or parts of the journey that were not made, by contacting our local customer service. Contact details can be found at www.airfrance.com or www.klm.com.

If you wish to get in touch with AIR FRANCE/KLM regarding a reimbursement request, a compensation claim or any other inquiry, please contact the local AIR FRANCE/KLM Customer Care office, preferably by e-mail. Contact details can be found at www.airfrance.com or www.klm.com.

6. Designated administrative bodies

Each EU member state has designated a body responsible for the enforcement of the assistance and compensation rules for irregularities, as outlined in this notice. Information concerning these regulatory bodies is available at the following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/2004_261_national_enforcement_bodies.pdf

We recommend that you first contact the customer service department of the airline that was your operating carrier for the flight during which the irregularity occurred (contact details can be found on the operating carrier’s website).

Version 1
Valid from October 15, 2013

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