Question 1

Which laws does this cover?

Accepted Answer

Eleven statutory regimes: the EU's Regulation 261/2004 (which Norway, Iceland and Switzerland apply too), the UK's retained version, Israel's Aviation Services Law, Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, Türkiye's SHY-Passenger regulation, India's DGCA rules, the US denied-boarding rule, Brazil's ANAC Resolution 400, Thailand's CAB Regulation 101, Indonesia's PM 89/2015 and Saudi Arabia's GACA regulation. They overlap constantly — a Tel Aviv–Toronto flight triggers two at once — so the page runs all of them and marks the one that pays most.

Question 2

How late do I have to be?

Accepted Answer

It depends entirely on which law reaches your route. Three hours in the EU, the UK and Türkiye. Three hours in Canada too, but there the payment then steps up again at six and nine hours. Eight hours in Israel, and ten in Thailand — the steepest threshold anywhere. In India, the United States and Brazil a delay pays nothing at all, however long; only cancellation or denied boarding does.

Question 3

Which law do I use if two apply?

Accepted Answer

You choose, but only once for the same disruption. A Tel Aviv–Frankfurt flight on Lufthansa is covered by both the EU and Israel, and the EU's €400 beats Israel's ₪2,350 at most exchange rates. This page ranks them for you using indicative rates — check the real rate on the day before you decide.

Question 4

The airline said it was weather. Is that the end of it?

Accepted Answer

No. Every one of these regimes puts the burden of proof on the airline, and all of them read the exemption narrowly. That means the specific meteorological or air-traffic-control record for your flight, not a generic sentence in an email. Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07) settled that routine technical faults, crew rostering and overbooking are ordinary business risks. Canada draws the same line in its own words: the disruption must be outside the carrier's control.

Question 5

Does a cheap ticket mean less money?

Accepted Answer

In Europe, the UK, Israel, Canada, Türkiye, Thailand and Indonesia, no — compensation is fixed by distance or by delay, never by fare. In the United States, India and Saudi Arabia it is the opposite: the payment is a multiple of what you paid, subject to a cap. That is why the ticket price field exists — fill it in and those three compute exactly instead of showing a ceiling.

Question 6

Nothing applies to my route. Is that it?

Accepted Answer

Not quite. The Montreal Convention 1999 covers almost every international flight on earth and makes the carrier liable for damage caused by delay — but it pays your proven losses, not a fixed sum, and only up to a ceiling of a few thousand SDR. You need receipts: the missed hotel night, the rebooked connection. It is slower and more work than a statutory claim, which is why it is the fallback rather than the first move.

Question 7

What is 'duty of care' worth?

Accepted Answer

It is separate from compensation and has no cap. From two hours of waiting the airline owes food, drink and two communications; if you are stranded overnight it owes a hotel room and the transfers. Brazil's ANAC rules are built almost entirely around this — they pay no fixed compensation but mandate assistance from one hour and a refund or re-accommodation past four. If the airline refuses and you pay yourself, keep every receipt and claim it back on top of the fixed sum.

Question 8

How long do I have to claim?

Accepted Answer

It depends on where you file. Six years in the UK and Ireland, five in France and Spain, three in Germany, two in the Netherlands, one year in Canada under the APPR. For claims under Israeli law, assume the shorter Montreal Convention window of two years unless a lawyer tells you otherwise. Claim early — evidence decays.

Question 9

Why can't the auto-detect find my flight?

Accepted Answer

Live status comes from a commercial aviation API through a server route, and it needs an API key that this browser-only build does not carry. Historical records also age out of most APIs after a few weeks — which is exactly when most claims get filed. Filling the route in by hand takes ten seconds and produces exactly the same letter.

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