Air Transat Flight Delayed or Cancelled? Compensation Guide
Updated June 2026 · EU261/UK261 rules applied to Air Transat's network
Delayed, cancelled, or bumped from a Air Transat flight? European law is unusually generous to passengers: fixed payouts of €250–€600 apply, and children with paid seats count too. Air Transat is a Canadian leisure airline flying seasonal and year-round transatlantic routes from Montreal and Toronto to France, the UK, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece.
The airline operates an Airbus fleet including A321LR neo aircraft on thinner European routes, and EU261/UK261 cover its departures from European airports. This page explains exactly when EU261 applies to Air Transat, how much each route pays, and the two ways to claim: free and direct, or through a no-win-no-fee service.
Run your Air Transat flight through the free checker — it applies all of the rules above in one go.
Does EU261 apply to Air Transat?
Because Air Transat is a non-European carrier, the rule of thumb is "outbound yes, inbound no": departures from EU/EEA/UK airports fall under EU261/UK261, while arrivals into Europe from Canada or anywhere else do not.
Watch for connections, though: if your journey started at a European airport on a single booking, the whole itinerary can be covered even when the disrupted leg was outside Europe.
Compensation amounts on Air Transat routes
The payout depends only on how far the flight was meant to take you. On Air Transat's network, typical routes look like this:
| Example route | Distance | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal (YUL) → Paris (CDG) | 5,524 km | €600 / £520 |
| Toronto (YYZ) → London (LGW) | 5,740 km | €600 / £520 |
| Montreal (YUL) → Lisbon (LIS) | 5,236 km | €600 / £520 |
Note the long-haul nuance: over 3,500 km the payout is €600, but it drops to €300 if your arrival delay stayed between 3 and 4 hours. Intra-European flights never exceed €400.
How to claim directly with Air Transat (free)
The free option first. Air Transat, like every airline, must handle compensation claims sent straight to it:
- Gather your booking reference, boarding passes, and proof of the disruption — screenshots of the airline app, the cancellation email, or a flight-tracker page showing the actual arrival time.
- Submit the claim through Air Transat's customer relations contact form on its website, citing Regulation (EC) 261/2004 and stating your arrival delay and the compensation amount you are owed.
- Name every passenger on the booking — each paid seat qualifies separately, including children.
- Give the airline a clear deadline (four to six weeks is reasonable) and decline any voucher unless it is worth more to you than cash; you are entitled to a bank transfer.
- If the claim is rejected or ignored, escalate to the national enforcement body or an ADR scheme — or hand it to a no-win-no-fee service at that point, having lost nothing.
You have time: claims against Air Transat can generally be filed for between one and six years depending on the country whose courts hear the claim after the flight.
Should you use a claim service?
The honest math: claim services take about a quarter to a third of the payout as commission. Claiming yourself keeps 100% — and works fine when the case is clear-cut and Air Transat plays fair. Services earn their cut on the contested cases.
Our suggestion: try the free direct route first if your case looks clear-cut. Use a claim service if you have already been rejected, if the cause of the disruption is disputed, or if you simply don't want to deal with it.
Claim services typically keep 25–35% of your payout as commission. Claiming directly with the airline yourself is free.
Air Transat compensation FAQ
- How much can I claim from Air Transat?
- Fixed amounts by distance: €250 (under 1,500 km), €400 (1,500–3,500 km, and longer intra-European routes), €600 (over 3,500 km), with UK equivalents of £220/£350/£520. On Air Transat's typical routes that works out to €600 per passenger, independent of the fare you paid.
- Does EU261 apply to Air Transat flights?
- Partially: because Air Transat is based in Canada, only its flights departing from EU, EEA or UK airports are covered. Flights into Europe on Air Transat are outside EU261 — unless they are the disrupted leg of a single booking that began in Europe.
- How long do I have to claim against Air Transat?
- The deadline depends on the country whose courts would hear the case — often where the airline is based or where you flew from. For Air Transat (Canada) that is typically between one and six years depending on the country whose courts hear the claim. Treat these as indicative and check before filing an old claim.
- What if my Air Transat flight was disrupted by a strike?
- It depends whose strike. Air-traffic-control or airport staff strikes usually count as extraordinary circumstances and kill the claim. A strike by Air Transat's own staff does not — the EU Court of Justice ruled in 2021 (C-28/20) that airlines must pay compensation for their own crews' strikes, though many still reject these claims at first.
- Can Air Transat pay me in vouchers instead of cash?
- Only if you genuinely prefer it. You are entitled to compensation in money, and refunds for cancelled flights must be paid in cash within 7 days unless you agree otherwise in writing. A voucher offer does not extinguish your compensation claim either — you can take the refund and still claim the fixed amount.
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Free eligibility check · service fee 25–35% only if you win · claiming directly yourself is free