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

Icelandair compensation: up to €600 per passenger

Icelandair 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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Choose departure and arrival: we will show you right away how much you are owed.
  • Data protected
  • Nothing upfront
  • You only pay if we win
  • Transparent feeOnly 25% + VAT and only if Icelandair pays: out of €400 you receive €278.
  • All the way to courtIf Icelandair does not pay, our lawyers take the airline to court, at no extra cost to you.
  • Claims handled87,715 passengers have already trusted usupdated in real time

In short

  • Delay: if you arrive 3 hours or more late, Icelandair 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 Icelandair pays, you keep €173.75 out of €250 or €278 out of €400.

Icelandair compensation: when you can claim

Icelandair is Iceland's national airline. Its hub is Keflavík International Airport, about 50 km from Reykjavík, and most of its network is built around connections between Europe and North America. Iceland is not in the EU, but it belongs to the European Economic Area and applies Regulation (EC) 261/2004. That makes Icelandair a European carrier for passenger rights: flights leaving Europe are covered, and so are flights into Europe from the US and Canada.

Long delay

You reach your final destination three hours or more behind schedule, wherever the delay started.

3+ hours on arrival

Cancellation

Icelandair cancelled with less than 14 days' warning.

Under 14 days' notice

Bumped from the flight

You were refused boarding on a full flight despite a valid ticket and timely check-in.

Payable straight away

No compensation

Genuinely extraordinary events, such as a storm closing Keflavík or volcanic ash in the airspace.

Extraordinary circumstances

Not sure where you stand? Check your Icelandair flight for free in two minutes.

How much Icelandair pays per passenger

The amount depends on the distance from your departure airport to your final destination, not on the fare or the cabin you booked.

Distance Icelandair examples Amount
Up to 1,500 km Reykjavík–Glasgow, Reykjavík–Edinburgh, domestic flights such as Reykjavík–Akureyri €250
1,500 to 3,500 km Reykjavík–London, Reykjavík–Manchester, Reykjavík–Paris €400
Over 3,500 km Reykjavík–New York, Reykjavík–Boston, Paris–Washington via Keflavík €600

Every passenger on the booking has their own claim. Two adults and two children with their own seats on a delayed Reykjavík–Boston flight could be owed €2,400 between them.

Icelandair flight delayed? What to do at the airport

Icelandair runs its schedule in waves at Keflavík, so one late inbound aircraft can knock on to the transatlantic departures. If you're caught up in it:

  1. Keep every boarding pass, including the one for the leg into Iceland.
  2. Screenshot the app and save emails showing the new times and the reason given.
  3. Write down when the doors opened at your final destination.
  4. Keep receipts for food or a hotel if no vouchers were handed out at Keflavík.
  5. Turn down Saga Club points or travel vouchers if you would rather be paid in cash.

Care while you wait

Flight length Meals and drinks after
Up to 1,500 km 2 hours
1,500 to 3,500 km 3 hours
Over 3,500 km 4 hours
5 hours or more You may abandon the trip and get your fare back

Missed connection in Keflavík

On a single booking, what matters is how late you arrive at the end of the journey, and the compensation is based on the full distance. Two separate tickets are assessed one by one. More on our delayed Icelandair flight page.

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Cancelled Icelandair flight

Refund or rebooking

Always your choice when a flight is cancelled: your money back or a seat on another Icelandair service.

Compensation on top

€250 to €600 extra if the notice was short and the cause was within the airline's control.

Notice given Compensation
14 days or more None
7 to 13 days Yes, unless the new flight left no more than 2 hours earlier and landed less than 4 hours later
Under 7 days Yes, unless the new flight left no more than 1 hour earlier and landed less than 2 hours later

Retimed flights. A big schedule change shortly before departure can count as a cancellation. See our cancelled Icelandair flight guide.

Icelandair overbooking

If you are left behind at the gate because the flight is oversold, compensation is due at once, along with rebooking or a refund. It does not apply if you were refused because your US or Canadian travel authorisation was missing. Read more about Icelandair overbooking.

Icelandair strikes

When Icelandair's own pilots or cabin crew walk out, compensation is normally still owed: the EU Court of Justice treats staff strikes as part of an airline's ordinary business (case C-28/20). Air traffic control strikes are a different matter and are outside the airline's control.

Icelandair rejected your claim? Common reasons

Usually payable
"Technical fault"

Faults found during routine maintenance are the airline's own risk.

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

Eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula only count if they actually disrupted your flight on that day.

Often not payable
"High winds at Keflavík"

Severe weather is a valid defence when it hit your airport at your departure time.

Already had a no from Icelandair? We check the weather and flight records for that day and push back where the refusal doesn't hold. Check your Icelandair flight.

Flights from the US and Canada, and the UK

Because Icelandair is an EEA carrier, the return leg is covered too: Seattle–Reykjavík–Dublin or Toronto–Reykjavík–Amsterdam, if you land three hours late. Flights leaving the UK fall under the UK's own version of the rules, with amounts in pounds, while journeys ending in the UK need a case-by-case check: we tell you which rules apply.

How to claim from Icelandair

On your own

Free: you write to Icelandair through its website and chase it yourself. If refused, you can go to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (the CAA for UK departures) or to court.

With DelayFlight24

Two minutes online. You pay only if you're paid: 25% + VAT. Our lawyers handle formal demands and court action, and legal costs are ours even if we lose.

What to have ready

  • Booking referenceOr a boarding pass.
  • Passport or IDFor each traveller.
  • Airline messagesPlus receipts.

Time limits

The deadline is set by the law of the country where you bring the claim (case C-139/11). Enter your flight date and we'll tell you if you're still in time.

How long payment takes

If Icelandair accepts, payment usually takes a few weeks; if we need a formal demand or court action, a few months. Your share arrives by bank transfer: €278 out of €400, €417 out of €600.

Icelandair baggage problems

Lost or damaged bags fall under the Montreal Convention. File a PIR at the airport, then write to Icelandair within 7 days for damage or within 21 days of delivery for a delayed bag.

Icelandair contact details

Head office
Icelandair, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Hub
Keflavík International Airport
Loyalty scheme
Saga Club
Claims and flight status
Help section of the official website and the Icelandair app
No win, no fee. Check your Icelandair flight.

What if Icelandair 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.

Icelandair compensation: frequently asked questions

Does EU261 apply to Icelandair even though Iceland isn't in the EU?
Yes. Iceland is part of the European Economic Area and applies the regulation, so Icelandair is treated as a European airline: flights from Europe and flights into Europe from North America are both covered.
How much compensation for a delayed Icelandair flight from Reykjavík to London?
€400 per passenger, as the route is between 1,500 and 3,500 km, provided you arrived at least three hours late and the cause was not extraordinary.
I missed my connection in Keflavík to Boston. Can I claim?
Yes, if everything was on one booking and you reached Boston three or more hours late. The amount is based on the whole journey, usually €600 on a transatlantic trip.
Is my flight from New York to Amsterdam via Reykjavík covered?
Yes. As an EEA carrier, Icelandair owes compensation on flights arriving in Europe from outside it, not just on flights leaving Europe.
Does a volcanic eruption in Iceland cancel my right to compensation?
Only if it actually caused your delay or cancellation, for example through ash in the airspace on the day. An eruption at another time is not a defence.
Icelandair offered me Saga Club points instead of cash. Should I accept?
You don't have to. Compensation is owed in money; points or vouchers only replace it if you agree in writing.
How long do I have to claim against Icelandair?
The regulation sets no deadline; it depends on the law of the country where the claim is brought. Enter your flight date and we will tell you if you can still claim.
What does DelayFlight24 charge for an Icelandair claim?
Nothing upfront. If Icelandair pays we keep 25% + VAT: you receive €278 out of €400 and €417 out of €600. Legal costs are ours even if a court case is lost.

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