airBaltic refused your compensation claim

Updated 13 October 2026

Your airBaltic flight from Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen or another Nordic airport, often via Riga, Tallinn or Vilnius, was delayed or cancelled. airBaltic said no, or did not answer at all, and now the airline is in a restructuring. You can still push the claim forward.

We are not affiliated with airBaltic and do not act for airBaltic.

Which rules apply to airBaltic

airBaltic (AS Air Baltic Corporation) is a Latvian airline, so an EU carrier. Regulation 261/2004 covers all its flights from the EU or EEA, and its flights into the EU from outside. Compensation is €250, €400 or €600 per passenger, depending on distance.

On a trip with a change in Riga on one booking, the delay counts at your final destination (Air France v Folkerts C-11/11). See missed connection. airBaltic also sells codeshare flights with SAS, Icelandair, Lufthansa and others. Compensation is paid by the airline that operated the flight (Article 3(5)).

The Chapter 11 filing: keep claiming

On 14 September 2026 airBaltic and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Completion is expected around June 2027. airBaltic says flights, sales and customer service continue as normal and that existing tickets, vouchers and credits remain valid. Its chief executive said passengers should not notice the restructuring.

The reports do not say how pending EU261 compensation claims will be treated. So do not wait:

• Claim in writing now, and keep dated copies of everything you send and receive.
• Ask for money, not a voucher. A voucher replaces compensation only with your signed agreement (Article 7(3)). See voucher instead of compensation.
• Watch the time limits. Do not assume the restructuring pauses them. See EU261 time limits in the Nordics.

What airBaltic says, and what the rules say back

Engine problems. In summer 2025 airBaltic cancelled 4,670 flights because of delayed Pratt & Whitney engine maintenance on its A220 fleet. Its then chief executive said this was "normal for an airline of our size". Ordinary technical problems are part of normal operations (Wallentin-Hermann C-549/07, van der Lans C-257/14). A hidden design defect that existed at the time and that the airline could not detect or control can be extraordinary (Matkustaja A v Finnair C-385/23). Either way, airBaltic must prove what happened. See technical faults.

"We told you in time." Latvia's consumer authority PTAC confirmed that no compensation is due if the flight is cancelled at least two weeks before departure. With shorter notice, the airline must prove when you were told (Article 5(4)), and compensation is due unless the rerouting met the Article 5 limits. A refund or rerouting is due either way. See cancelled flight compensation refused.

No answer at all. In a case decided by the Riga Regional Court on 8 April 2022, a written claim for passengers on a Copenhagen–Riga flight that left about 5 hours late in October 2019 got neither a reply nor payment. The court granted the claim in full: €1,600 in compensation plus fees and costs, about €2,445 plus interest, with no appeal possible. Silence is not a defence.

How to claim from airBaltic

• Where: the airline's own claim form, linked from its EU261 page.
• Deadline and answer time: airBaltic's EU261 page states neither.
• Latvian authority: airBaltic names PTAC (Consumer Rights Protection Centre, www.ptac.gov.lv) as its enforcement body. PTAC takes a signed application with your correspondence and tickets attached.

Does airBaltic follow the boards?

We found no published figures on whether airBaltic follows Nordic board decisions, and Sweden's Råd & Rön list is behind a paywall. The Riga case shows airBaltic neither answered nor paid until it was taken to court.

Step by step

1. Reply to airBaltic in writing, in English. Claim the amount per passenger and ask for the evidence behind its reason.
2. Wait for the answer: about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark. See airline not responding.
3. Go to the board for the country where the disruption happened. airBaltic is based in Latvia, so in Finland contact ECC Finland before KRIL. In Sweden, ARN may decline a non-resident's complaint about a non-Swedish airline; then use the ECC in your own country. Transportklagenemnda takes any flight to, from or within Norway, via www.reiselivsforum.no. In Denmark, use Trafikstyrelsen with MitID. For a disruption in Latvia, PTAC is the body. See the Nordic complaint boards.
4. Court. For a flight within the EU, you can sue where it departed or arrived, as the EU Court held in a case against airBaltic itself (Rehder C-204/08).

When it is worth it, and when not

Strong: technical and engine problems, a cancellation with less than two weeks' notice, a missed connection in Riga on one booking, and claims airBaltic never answered.

Weak: a cancellation announced at least two weeks ahead, where you got your money back. Not sure? Try the rejection checker.

Appeal My Flight writes the reply to airBaltic and the board complaint for €29 per booking, however many passengers. You send it yourself and keep the payout. We cannot promise an outcome.

FAQ

airBaltic is in Chapter 11. Is my claim lost?

Nothing in the reports says so, but none says how pending claims will be handled either. Claim now and keep records.

My airBaltic voucher: is it still valid?

airBaltic says existing tickets, vouchers and credits remain valid. If you have not agreed to a voucher as compensation, you can still ask for money.

Can I take airBaltic to court in Finland?

For a flight from or to Finland within the EU, yes: the court for the place of departure or arrival can hear it (C-204/08).

Got the airline's reply? Paste it into the rejection checker and see what EU court rulings say about their excuse.