The deadline is set by the country whose courts would hear the claim, which is usually where you departed from or where the airline is based. It is far more generous than most passengers assume.
| Country | Time limit |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom (England, Wales, NI) | 6 years |
| Scotland | 5 years |
| France | 5 years |
| Spain | 5 years |
| Germany | 3 years |
| Ireland | 6 years |
| Italy | 2 years |
| Netherlands | 2 years |
| Belgium | 1 year |
German limits run to the end of the calendar year three years after the flight, so a delay in March 2023 is claimable until 31 December 2026 rather than March 2026. That quirk buys people months they did not know they had.
Less than you think. The essentials are the flight number, the date, and the route. A booking reference helps but is not essential, because the airline can find you from the rest.
If you have lost everything, try these in order:
You do not need to. The airline holds its own operational records and the burden of proof sits with them under Article 5(3). Historical flight data for old flights is also publicly available on tracking sites, so a refusal on the basis that they cannot find the delay is worth challenging.
What matters is the arrival time at your final destination, measured from when the aircraft doors opened, not the departure delay and not the time the airline logged for its own punctuality statistics.
A family of four on a delayed long haul flight from three years ago is sitting on up to €2,400. It costs one email to find out, and the airline cannot penalise you for asking.
The only thing that kills an old claim is the deadline. If you are near one of the shorter limits, send something in writing now rather than waiting until the paperwork is perfect.
Check an old flight