Lufthansa rejected your compensation claim

Updated 13 October 2026

Your Lufthansa flight was delayed or cancelled, often on a trip from the Nordics via Frankfurt or Munich, and Lufthansa said no. You are not alone. Lufthansa had 230 flight cases at Norway's Transportklagenemnda in 2024. First check which airline to claim from and which body takes your case.

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

What Lufthansa's rejection usually means

• A strike, by its own staff or at the airport.
• Weather or air traffic control restrictions at the big hub airports.
• "Not our flight." You bought the ticket from Lufthansa, but another airline operated the flight.

Lufthansa is a German airline, so Regulation 261/2004 covers all its flights from or to the EU or EEA, including flights into the Nordics from outside Europe. Compensation is €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance.

Strike

A strike by the airline's own staff, called by the union over pay or working conditions, is not an extraordinary circumstance (Airhelp v SAS C-28/20). The same applies when staff at a subsidiary strike in support of the parent company's employees (CS v Eurowings C-613/20). Eurowings is part of the Lufthansa group.

A strike by people not employed by the airline, such as airport security or air traffic controllers, is usually extraordinary. See strike cancellation.

"Not our flight"

Compensation is paid by the airline that operated the flight (Article 3(5)). This can decide who you claim from.

Sweden's ARN dealt with a case where Lufthansa had sold the trip Arlanda–Vienna–Split, but the Arlanda–Vienna leg was operated by another airline and cancelled. Lufthansa operated no part of the journey, and ARN said the claim had to go to the airline that flew (ARN 2023-16889).

It is different when the seller operated one of the legs on the booking. In a case about Arlanda–Miami–Pensacola on one booking, the seller had flown one of the legs, so it had to answer for the partner's cancelled leg and pay €600 (ARN 2023-04093). Check who operated every leg.

Missed connection in Frankfurt or Munich

With one booking, the delay counts at your final destination (Air France v Folkerts C-11/11), and the distance runs from the first departure to the final destination (Bossen C-559/16). A trip from Helsinki via Frankfurt to the United States can give €600, even if only the short first flight was late. See missed connection.

Weather, ATC and technical faults

• Weather and ATC are often accepted as events, but Lufthansa must show how they hit your flight and that it took all reasonable measures, including rerouting on other airlines (LE v TAP C-74/19). Only the part of the delay caused by the event can excuse the airline (Pešková C-315/15). In KRIL D/914/35/2023 (another airline), Frankfurt weather and ATC delayed the previous evening's flight, but standby crew could have avoided the next morning's delay. The passenger got €400.
• Technical faults are part of normal operations (van der Lans C-257/14). See technical fault.

What evidence to ask for

• which airline operated each leg, with flight numbers
• delay codes and a timeline for each delayed flight
• for a strike: which staff group and which company went on strike
• for weather or ATC: weather data or slot messages
• which rerouting options, including other airlines, were checked

Which body takes your case

The country where the disruption happened decides, not where you live:

• Finland: Lufthansa is a German airline, so contact ECC Finland first, then KRIL if the disruption happened in Finland. EU261 cases can be filed in English.
• Sweden: ARN, 150 kr. ARN mainly examines disputes under Swedish law; if you live outside Sweden, it may decline a case against a non-Swedish airline like Lufthansa. Then use the ECC in your own country.
• Denmark: Trafikstyrelsen, with MitID.
• Norway: Transportklagenemnda for any flight to, from or within Norway, via www.reiselivsforum.no, in Norwegian or English.
• Germany or another EU country: that country's body. The ECC network helps for free with disputes against airlines in other EU countries.

See the Nordic complaint boards.

Step by step

1. Reply to Lufthansa in writing, in English. Claim the amount per passenger and ask for the evidence above.
2. Wait for the answer: about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark. See airline not responding.
3. File with the right body from the list above.

When it is worth it, and when it is not

Worth it: a strike by Lufthansa's own staff or a group company, a technical fault, weather or ATC without documents for your flight, and a missed connection on one booking.

Weak: another airline operated the disrupted leg and Lufthansa flew no part of the journey. Then claim from the other airline.

Appeal My Flight writes the reply to the right airline and the board complaint for €29 per booking. You send it yourself and keep the payout. We cannot promise an outcome.

FAQ

The flight had a Lufthansa number but another airline flew it. Who do I claim from?

From the operating airline, meaning the airline that actually flew it.

Lufthansa offered a voucher. Do I have to take it?

No. A voucher instead of money requires your signed agreement. See voucher instead of compensation.

Can I also claim for a hotel in Frankfurt?

Yes. Meals, hotel and transport can be claimed against receipts, on top of the fixed compensation.

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