SmartLynx compensation after the airline stopped flying
SmartLynx Airlines, a Latvian carrier based next to Riga airport, grounded all its flights on 24 November 2025 and went into insolvency proceedings in Latvia shortly afterwards. Founded in 1992 as LatCharter, it specialised in charter flights and in flying aircraft and crews for other airlines and tour operators. From 2021, for example, it ran full-charter holiday flights for TUI Deutschland out of Saarbrücken and Basel-Mulhouse to Mallorca, the Greek islands and the Canaries. If one of its flights left you waiting or was cancelled, your right to €250 to €600 per passenger did not disappear with the shutdown, but getting paid is harder. More than 150 SmartLynx passengers have already come to us.
Because SmartLynx is an EU airline, Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applied to all its departures from the EU and also to its flights into the EU from non-EU countries such as Turkey and Egypt.
Delay
Your SmartLynx flight landed 3 hours or more behind schedule, for instance on a return from Palma to Saarbrücken.
3 hours plusCancellation
The flight was cancelled with under 14 days' notice, including flights lost in the November 2025 shutdown.
Under 14 daysBumped
You were refused boarding on an oversold flight despite a valid booking and arriving on time.
Owed at onceThe catch
An insolvent airline may never pay in full. Claims against SmartLynx itself go through the insolvency process.
InsolvencyWe start by checking whether your flight qualifies and who is liable today. Check your SmartLynx flight for free.
What the rules provide on SmartLynx routes
The amount depends on the distance from departure airport to final destination, not on what your package holiday cost.
| Distance | SmartLynx routes our clients flew | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | Saarbrücken–Palma de Mallorca and back | €250 |
| 1,500–3,500 km | Saarbrücken–Fuerteventura, Heraklion–Saarbrücken, Riga–Antalya | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km within the EU | Tenerife–Tallinn | €400 |
Each traveller has a claim. A family of four on a Saarbrücken–Fuerteventura flight that landed four hours late would be owed €1,600, with children in their own seats counting as adults. Groups can go on a single claim.
Delayed SmartLynx flight: what you need now
About 8 in 10 SmartLynx claims we handle are about delays. As the airline no longer operates, the job now is to piece together what happened:
- Find your booking confirmation or package documents: they show the flight number and the operating airline.
- Look for your boarding pass, even a phone photo or PDF.
- Dig out emails and texts from the tour operator or airline about the delay or a schedule change.
- Collect receipts for meals, taxis or a hotel you paid for while waiting.
- Write down times and airports you remember: we match them against official flight records.
Care you were entitled to at the airport
If you received no food or accommodation during the wait, those costs can be reclaimed alongside compensation.
| Flight | Meals and drinks after |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km (e.g. Saarbrücken–Palma) | 2 hours |
| 1,500–3,500 km (e.g. Riga–Antalya) | 3 hours |
| Over 3,500 km | 4 hours |
| Delay over 5 hours | Right to give up the flight and get the fare back |
Missed connections
If the SmartLynx flight was booked together with another flight and you reached your final destination 3 or more hours late, the whole journey is assessed. More on SmartLynx delay compensation.
Cancelled SmartLynx flights, including the shutdown
When operations stopped on 24 November 2025, scheduled flights were cancelled with no notice. Every cancellation brings two separate rights.
The cost of the flight or another way to travel. With a package holiday, the tour operator usually handles this.
Owed by the airline if notice came less than 14 days before and no alternative at similar times was offered.
| Notice given | Compensation |
|---|---|
| 14 days or more | No |
| 7 to 13 days | Yes, unless the alternative left no more than 2 hours earlier and landed less than 4 hours late |
| Under 7 days | Yes, unless the alternative left no more than 1 hour earlier and landed less than 2 hours late |
Package holidays. If the flight was part of a package, the tour operator is responsible for delivering the trip under package travel law. That is a different protection from Regulation 261 compensation. See cancelled SmartLynx flight compensation.
SmartLynx overbooking
None of the SmartLynx cases we handle involve denied boarding: on charter flights, where a tour operator buys the whole aircraft, it is rare. If it did happen to you, compensation was due immediately, plus another flight. Read our guide to SmartLynx overbooking.
SmartLynx and strikes
A walkout by SmartLynx pilots or cabin crew did not let the airline off: the EU Court of Justice treats staff strikes as part of an airline's business risk (case C-28/20). Strikes by French or Spanish air traffic controllers, or by airport workers, are different: no compensation there.
SmartLynx refused or never replied? Where you stand
If you were turned down before the shutdown, here is how the courts view the reasons most often given on charter flights.
Technical problems are part of normal operations, apart from hidden manufacturing defects.
EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07Charter aircraft fly several sectors a day; a delay carried over is not extraordinary in itself.
Payable if SmartLynx staff struck, not if controllers or airport staff did.
EU Court of Justice, case C-28/20They can be extraordinary, but must be shown for that flight at that time.
Flights operated for other airlines: who to claim from
Much of SmartLynx's business was wet-leasing aircraft with crew to other airlines. If your booking showed another airline's flight number, and that airline sold the flight and ran it under its own responsibility, the claim normally goes to that airline rather than to SmartLynx, which gives a far better chance of being paid. If it was a SmartLynx flight with a 6Y number, the claim is against the insolvent company.
How to claim for a SmartLynx flight: alone or with us
With the airline insolvent, a direct claim no longer goes through customer service but through the Latvian insolvency process.
You must work out who is liable, follow the Latvian proceedings and, for flights run by other airlines, claim from them and, if refused, go to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed or to court.
We check the flight, identify who should pay and pursue it with our own lawyers. You pay only if money comes in: 25% + VAT, leaving you €173.75 from €250 or €278 from €400. Legal costs are always ours.
If you claimed before the shutdown
Keep any reply or proof that you sent the claim: it helps rebuild the case and shows you acted in time.
Documents to gather
- Booking or package voucherShowing flight number and date.
- IDFor every passenger, children included.
- Evidence of the disruptionMessages received and receipts for expenses.
Time limits
Compensation claims follow the national time limits of the country where you bring them (EU Court of Justice, case C-139/11). An insolvency, however, has its own deadlines for lodging claims, so it is best not to wait. Enter your flight date.
How long payment takes on SmartLynx flights
If the claim lies against another airline that is still flying, the usual timescales apply: a few weeks if it accepts, several months if a formal demand or court case is needed. If it lies against SmartLynx, timing depends on the insolvency and can be long, and the outcome cannot be guaranteed.
Lost or damaged luggage on a SmartLynx flight
Bags are covered by the Montreal Convention: get a PIR at the airport and claim in writing within 7 days for damage or 21 days for late delivery. On a package holiday, tell your tour operator as well.
SmartLynx contact details and company status
- Head office
- SmartLynx Airlines, Mārupe (Riga), Latvia
- Status
- Flights suspended since 24 November 2025, insolvency proceedings in Latvia
- Claims
- Lodged in the insolvency proceedings; for flights under another airline's number, with that airline
- Website
- smartlynx.aero
Ryanair
Wizz Air
Vueling