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✓ You only pay if you get compensation✓ Up to €600 per passenger✓ EC Regulation 261/2004
KLMDelay · Cancellation · Overbooking

KLM compensation: up to €600 per passenger

KLM flight delayed, cancelled or overbooked? Check for free in 2 minutes: we handle the claim, all the way to court if needed.

  • Up to €600 per passenger
  • Check in just 2 minutes
  • Nothing upfront: you only pay if you get compensation
  • Legal assistance specialised in air travel
DelayFlight24 applies European Regulation EC 261/2004
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  • Data protected
  • Nothing upfront
  • You only pay if we win
  • Transparent feeOnly 25% + VAT and only if KLM pays: out of €400 you receive €278.
  • All the way to courtIf KLM does not pay, our lawyers take the airline to court, at no extra cost to you.
  • Claims handled87,774 passengers have already trusted usupdated in real time

In short

  • Delay: if you arrive 3 hours or more late, KLM owes €250 to €600 per person, depending on the distance.
  • Cancellation: you are owed compensation if you were told less than 14 days before departure, on top of a ticket refund or an alternative flight.
  • Not owed for extraordinary circumstances (severe weather, air traffic control strikes). Technical faults and strikes by the airline's own staff usually are not extraordinary.
  • With DelayFlight24 you pay nothing upfront: if KLM pays, you keep €173.75 out of €250 or €278 out of €400.

KLM claims in numbers

Figures from the KLM claims we have handled for our customers, updated daily.

489KLM passengers have trusted us
42%of claims concern delayed flights
49%concern cancelled flights
10%concern overbooking and denied boarding

KLM routes with the most claims

KLM routes with the most claims
RoutekmOwed
Rio De JaneiroAmsterdam9,566600 €Check
AmsterdamCalgary7,172600 €Check
VeniceAmsterdam938250 €Check
AmsterdamParis399250 €Check
LagosAmsterdam5,092600 €Check
BirminghamAmsterdam442250 €Check
AmsterdamToronto5,993600 €Check
BergenAmsterdam889250 €Check

Amount per person for arrival delays of at least 3 hours, cancellations with less than 14 days' notice and overbooking, unless there were extraordinary circumstances.

KLM compensation and refunds: €250 to €600 for delayed or cancelled flights

KLM's network is built around a single hub, Amsterdam Schiphol, so one late arrival there can ripple through your whole trip. We have taken on more than 350 KLM claims, ranging from short hops like Amsterdam–Paris to long-haul sectors from Lagos, Rio de Janeiro and Calgary. Landed three hours late, lost your flight to a short-notice cancellation, or bumped from a full plane? Each traveller on the booking may be entitled to €250, €400 or €600.

The airline's full name is Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., better known as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Founded in 1919, it is headquartered in Amstelveen near Schiphol and forms part of Air France-KLM. Being Dutch, it falls under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 twice over: on flights out of Europe and on the flights it operates into Europe, Lagos–Amsterdam and Calgary–Amsterdam included.

Arrived late

Measured at the end of the journey: if the onward flight from Schiphol got you in three or more hours behind schedule, it qualifies.

Three-hour threshold

Flight scrapped

KLM called it off inside the two weeks before departure and the replacement times were not close to the original.

Inside 14 days

No seat for you

The plane was oversold and you were turned away at the gate, even though your booking was confirmed and you were on time.

Payable at once

The exceptions

Genuinely unavoidable events, like a violent storm over the Netherlands or controllers walking out, cancel the right to cash. KLM carries the burden of proof.

Extraordinary events

Two minutes and three details (from, to, date) are all we need to give you an answer: start the KLM check.

What KLM pays: amounts by route length

A cheap promotional fare earns as much as a flexible ticket; cabin class is irrelevant too. The single factor is how far it is from where your booking starts to where it ends.

Great-circle distance KLM sectors in our files Per person
1,500 km or less Amsterdam–Paris, Venice–Amsterdam, Bergen–Amsterdam, Manchester–Amsterdam €250
Between 1,500 and 3,500 km Amsterdam–Lisbon, Amsterdam–Athens €400
Beyond 3,500 km Lagos–Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro–Amsterdam, Amsterdam–Calgary €600

Every name on the booking counts separately, and a child in their own seat is owed the adult amount. Picture a family of four on Lagos–Amsterdam, five hours late: €2,400 between them.

Delayed KLM flight: building a strong claim

Delay is behind roughly four in ten of the KLM cases on our books. The legal yardstick is the moment a door opens at the last airport on your ticket. So on Venice–Amsterdam–Calgary, the clock stops in Calgary, not at Schiphol. At the airport, it pays to:

  1. Screenshot each boarding pass in the KLM app, the connecting one included.
  2. Save the new itinerary KLM issues when it rebooks you; it pins down your real arrival time.
  3. Ask staff at the Schiphol transfer desks for the cause in writing where possible. Airlines sometimes give a different reason once a claim arrives.
  4. Pay for essentials by card and keep the slips if no meal vouchers or hotel turn up, then send them to KLM.
  5. Hold off on travel vouchers or Flying Blue miles until you know the cash figure you are entitled to.

Meals, drinks and a hotel while you wait

Weather or no weather, KLM owes you care once the wait passes a set point: refreshments, and a room plus transfers if departure slips overnight.

Type of flight Care kicks in at
Short-haul, 1,500 km or less 2 hours
Medium-haul, 1,500–3,500 km 3 hours
Long-haul, beyond 3,500 km 4 hours
Departure pushed back 5 hours or more Abandon the trip and claim back the ticket price

Connection missed at Schiphol

Booked as one ticket? Then KLM is judged on the end result. Bergen–Amsterdam–Lagos reaching Nigeria six hours late is a €600 claim, because the distance is counted from Bergen to Lagos, even if it was the 900-km feeder that ran late. Self-connected journeys on two separate bookings do not work this way. The full rules are on our page about KLM delay compensation.

Does your KLM flight qualify?Check in 2 minutes, with no obligation.
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Cancelled KLM flight: your money back and possibly more

In our KLM files, cancellation tops the list at close to half of everything we handle. KLM will normally email a rebooking or a refund. Take it if it suits you, but know that cash compensation is a separate entitlement.

Ticket refund or new routing

Guaranteed with every cancellation, whatever the reason. The choice between the two is yours, not KLM's.

€250 to €600 in cash

Comes in addition whenever the warning reached you fewer than 14 days ahead of the flight.

Warning period Cash compensation?
Two weeks or longer No; refund or rerouting only
Between one and two weeks Yes, unless KLM's replacement departs within 2 hours before the original and lands no more than 4 hours after it
Under one week Yes, unless KLM's replacement departs within 1 hour before the original and lands no more than 2 hours after it

Big timetable shifts. A departure brought forward or pushed back by hours, close to the travel date, can legally count as a cancellation according to the Court of Justice. Took the refund already? That does not stop a compensation claim: run the check, or read about compensation for a cancelled KLM flight.

Bumped by KLM: denied boarding

One in ten KLM claims we see stems from passengers being kept off a full aircraft. Provided your passport or visa was valid and you made the check-in and gate deadlines, KLM must pay compensation there and then, rebook or refund you, and look after you meanwhile.

Two situations fall outside this: accepting a voucher to step aside voluntarily, where the deal you struck replaces the legal amount, and being refused for reasons on your side, such as missing documents or a late arrival at the gate. Our guide to KLM overbooking and denied boarding covers the details, or ask us to check for free.

KLM industrial action and your rights

Was it KLM's own workforce that stopped work, whether in the cockpit, the cabin or on the ground at Schiphol? Then the cancellation is the airline's responsibility, and Luxembourg's judges agree: in case C-28/20 they found that staff strikes belong to normal airline business. Action by people KLM does not employ, such as Dutch air traffic control, is treated differently: no cash, though meals, hotels and a refund or rebooking remain due.

Turned down by KLM? Reasons worth challenging

A rejection email rarely explains much. Set it against the rulings below before deciding whether to let it go.

Usually payable
"Unforeseen technical defect"

Breakdowns discovered on the line or during maintenance count as everyday risks. Only a design flaw revealed by the manufacturer or a regulator changes that. Test your flight.

EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07
It depends
"Strike"

KLM pilots, crew or ground handlers on strike: payable. Controllers or airport security on strike: not payable.

EU Court of Justice, case C-28/20
Usually payable
"Knock-on delay from an earlier rotation"

An aircraft running behind schedule all day is a planning matter. KLM must identify the extraordinary event at the root of it, if there was one.

Often not payable
"Strong winds at Schiphol" or "airport capacity limits"

Real restrictions on the day can excuse KLM. We look at the actual weather and slot data for your hour before telling you.

Received a no from KLM? Plenty of rejections are reversed once challenged. We test KLM's explanation against the facts and, where it falls short, escalate with a letter before action and then court. Start the KLM check.

KLM Cityhopper, Air France and partner flights

A share of KLM's European network is flown by KLM Cityhopper, the regional arm based at Schiphol. Same nationality, same rights: give us the flight number and we address the claim correctly. Group flights flown by Air France work the same way.

Partner flights are the trap. On intercontinental routes KLM often sells seats on aircraft flown by non-EU airlines, and for those the Regulation only bites on the leg leaving an EU airport. The return into Amsterdam is not covered. Your e-ticket names the operating carrier.

Nigeria, Canada, Brazil, Norway and the UK

KLM's own aircraft are covered whichever way they fly between Europe and the rest of the world. Routes that come up in our cases:

  • Lagos to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Lagos
  • Amsterdam to Calgary, and the inbound sector
  • Rio de Janeiro to Amsterdam, and the outbound sector
  • Bergen to Amsterdam: Norway is in the EEA and follows the Regulation
  • UK airports such as Manchester, to and from Schiphol

Departures from British airports are also protected by UK261, paid in sterling. We pick whichever regime gives you more.

Claiming from KLM yourself versus using DelayFlight24

KLM has a free online claim form under customer support on klm.com; your booking code and flight number get you started. The comparison:

Doing it alone

Free, but the back-and-forth is yours. Refused? Your next stops are the enforcement body in the country you flew from (for UK departures, the CAA) and then the small claims or county court, at your own cost.

Handing it to us

A short form and an e-signature. We write to KLM, chase, escalate and, where needed, sue through our own lawyers. Our fee, 25% + VAT, is taken only from money we actually recover. Court costs are on us, win or lose.

Already refused by KLM?

Send us the rejection. A wrong explanation is a good starting point for a formal demand.

What to have to hand

  • E-ticket and boarding cardsAll sectors, Schiphol connection included.
  • PassportsOne per traveller, children too.
  • KLM correspondenceCancellation notices, rebooking emails, push alerts and receipts.

Is it too late to claim from KLM?

EU law leaves the deadline to each country (Court of Justice, case C-139/11), so the time limit depends on where the claim is filed. Flights from several years back are frequently still claimable: give us the date.

Waiting for KLM's payment

An accepted claim is typically paid within a few weeks. A refusal means a formal demand and, sometimes, a court case, which stretches things to a few months. Your share reaches your bank as soon as KLM's money reaches ours.

Baggage problems on KLM

Suitcases are a Montreal Convention matter rather than an EU261 one. Tight transfers at Schiphol do leave bags behind: report it at the baggage service desk and get a PIR reference before you go landside. Written claims to KLM must follow within 7 days for damage, or 21 days from the day a delayed bag reaches you.

KLM details and live flight information

Legal entity
Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., Amstelveen, the Netherlands
Home base
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Compensation requests
Claim form in the customer support area of klm.com
Live status
KLM app, or klm.com
Zero risk to you. We are paid only out of compensation we win, and if KLM ends up in court and we lose, the bill is ours. Start the KLM check.

What if KLM does not pay? We go all the way

Many airlines only pay when they realise we will not give up. If they refuse or do not reply, our lawyers take legal action, and you do not have to do anything.

Claim to the airline

We send the formal claim with all the documents.

Formal notice

If they do not pay, we send a formal notice with legal value.

Our lawyers in court

Our lawyers take the airline to court, all the way to a judgement.

  • If we lose, you pay nothingNo fee and no costs. If we win, the fee is 40% + VAT.
  • Legal costs are on usYou pay nothing for the court case, even if we lose.
  • All the way to a judgementWe do not stop at the formal notice: if needed we go to court.

Latest KLM news

The latest delayed, cancelled and overbooked KLM flights and the compensation passengers are owed.

KLM
Cancelled flight

KLM Cancelled Flight Rio de Janeiro Amsterdam: 600€ Compensation

Passengers on KLM Rio de Janeiro Amsterdam flight able to receive 600€ compensation due to flight cancellation

Compensation 600 €Read
All news

KLM compensation: frequently asked questions

My KLM flight from Lagos to Amsterdam was five hours late. What can I get?
€600 per traveller, provided KLM flew the aircraft itself and the delay was not caused by an extraordinary event. Lagos–Amsterdam is over 3,500 km, and as a Dutch airline KLM must apply EU261 to flights it operates into the EU.
What are the EU261 amounts on typical KLM routes?
Amsterdam–Paris or Manchester–Amsterdam: €250. Amsterdam–Lisbon or Amsterdam–Athens: €400. Rio de Janeiro–Amsterdam or Amsterdam–Calgary: €600. These apply to arrivals three or more hours late and to cancellations notified inside 14 days.
Does a missed transfer at Schiphol count?
It does when everything was on one ticket. KLM is assessed on when you finally arrived, and the payment reflects the whole distance, so Bergen–Amsterdam–Lagos is worth €600. Two separate bookings are assessed one flight at a time.
Can I take KLM's refund and still ask for compensation?
Yes. Getting your fare back after a cancellation does not waive the fixed payment, which is due if the warning came less than two weeks before departure and nothing extraordinary was to blame.
Who handles the claim if KLM Cityhopper or Air France flew the plane?
Both are EU carriers in the Air France-KLM group, so EU261 applies in full. We send the claim to whichever airline operated the flight; you only need to give us the flight number.
My KLM ticket was flown by a non-European partner. Am I protected?
On the leg leaving an EU airport, yes. On the leg flying into Europe, no, because the operating airline is not an EU carrier. The operating airline is printed on your e-ticket.
Is a UK flight to Amsterdam on KLM covered?
Yes. KLM is an EU airline, so arrivals into Amsterdam from Britain fall under EU261, and departures from the UK are also protected by UK261. We use whichever gives you more.
KLM blamed strong winds at Schiphol. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. Weather only excuses KLM if it actually disrupted your flight at that time. We compare the airport's weather records and capacity restrictions with your schedule before advising you.
Is there a deadline for claiming from KLM?
EU261 has none of its own; the Court of Justice (case C-139/11) leaves it to national law, so the limit depends on where the claim is brought. Give us your flight date and we will confirm.
What is DelayFlight24's fee on a KLM claim?
25% + VAT, deducted only from money we recover. That leaves you €173.75 of a €250 award and €278 of €400. Nothing is charged upfront, and if a court case is lost the legal costs fall on us.

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