Air Mauritius compensation: €600 on long-haul flights from Europe
A trip to Mauritius usually means an overnight long-haul flight and a holiday planned months ahead, so a cancellation or a lost day hurts. We have already helped more than 170 Air Mauritius passengers, mostly travelling between Mauritius and London, Paris, Rome or Johannesburg. If your flight from Europe arrived 3 hours or more late, was cancelled at short notice or left without you, you could be owed up to €600 per person.
Air Mauritius is the national airline of Mauritius, headquartered in Port Louis with its hub at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. It is not an EU carrier, so Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applies to it only on departures from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland. Paris to Mauritius is covered; Mauritius to Paris is not.
Late arrival
You flew out of Europe and reached Mauritius at least 3 hours behind schedule.
€600 over 3,500 kmFlight cancelled
Your departure from Europe was scrapped with less than 14 days' warning.
Short noticeSeat refused
Your booking was confirmed and you were at the gate on time, yet the aircraft left without you.
Owed at onceExclusions
Flights departing Mauritius, South Africa or other non-EU countries, and genuine extraordinary events such as a cyclone.
Non-EU departure or force majeureFlew Air Mauritius out of Paris, Geneva or Rome? Type in the airports and date and within 2 minutes you will know whether a claim is possible. Check your Air Mauritius flight.
How much Air Mauritius pays per route
Your fare, whether economy, business or part of a package holiday, does not change the amount. What matters is the distance from the European departure airport to your final destination, and nearly every European route of Air Mauritius is well over 9,000 km.
| Distance | Covered Air Mauritius flights | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | Saint-Denis (Réunion)–Mauritius | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | No Air Mauritius flight from the EU in this band | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | Paris–Mauritius, Geneva–Mauritius, Rome–Mauritius | €600 |
The full sum is due to each passenger: two adults and two children with their own seats on a Paris–Mauritius flight that landed three and a half hours late can claim €2,400. Réunion is a French overseas department and part of the EU, so the short hop from Saint-Denis to Mauritius is covered just like a flight from Paris.
Flights from London Gatwick: UK rules apply
Most British travellers fly Air Mauritius from London Gatwick. Since Brexit the EU Regulation no longer covers UK departures, but the UK kept an equivalent law, known as UK261. On a Gatwick–Mauritius flight the long-haul amount is £520 per passenger, under the same conditions on delay, cancellation and denied boarding. The return from Mauritius to Gatwick is covered by neither scheme when Air Mauritius operates it.
Air Mauritius flight delayed: what to do
Roughly half of the Air Mauritius claims we handle start with a delay. On overnight departures this can mean hours at the gate and a morning lost on arrival at Plaisance. The reference point is when the aircraft doors open at your destination. Steps worth taking:
- Save the boarding pass for the European leg, printed or on your phone.
- Get the reason from ground staff at Charles de Gaulle, Gatwick or Geneva and note it down.
- Record the real arrival time in Mauritius with a photo or a note on your phone.
- Keep receipts for meals and hotels if no care was provided.
- Do not swap compensation for Kestrelflyer miles or vouchers: you are owed money.
Care before departure
On a covered intercontinental flight, Air Mauritius must provide meals and drinks after a 4-hour wait and, if departure moves to the next day, a hotel and transfers.
| Flight type | Care from |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km (Réunion–Mauritius) | 2 hours |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | 3 hours |
| Over 3,500 km (Paris–Mauritius) | 4 hours |
| Wait beyond 5 hours | You can abandon the trip and claim a refund |
Onward flight missed in Mauritius
Plenty of travellers continue from Mauritius to Rodrigues or other Indian Ocean islands. On a single ticket starting in Europe, what counts is your arrival at the last destination; on separate tickets the European flight is assessed alone. Read our page on Air Mauritius delayed flight compensation.
Air Mauritius flight cancelled: refund and compensation
Cancellations make up almost half of the Air Mauritius claims we receive, far above the average. When a flight is axed you have two rights, and they add up.
Choose between your money back and the next suitable flight to Mauritius.
Payable on top when the flight left Europe and you were told less than 14 days before.
| Notice given | Compensation |
|---|---|
| 14 days or more | Not due; refund or alternative flight still apply |
| 13 to 7 days | Due, unless the alternative left at most 2 hours earlier and arrived less than 4 hours late |
| Under 7 days | Due, unless the alternative left at most 1 hour earlier and arrived less than 2 hours late |
Rescheduled flights. On routes with only a few weekly frequencies, even a one-day move upends a holiday. A major change announced late can count as a cancellation under EU Court of Justice case law. Check whether compensation applies. More on our page about Air Mauritius cancelled flight compensation.
Air Mauritius overbooking
Denied boarding is rare in our Air Mauritius files, around 1 in 100, but on a €600 route it matters. With a confirmed booking and on-time arrival at the gate, compensation is due immediately, plus a new flight or a refund.
It is not due if boarding was refused over an invalid passport, missing entry documents or reaching the gate after it closed. See our guide to Air Mauritius overbooking and denied boarding.
Strikes and Air Mauritius flights
A walkout by Air Mauritius pilots or cabin crew does not release the airline from paying on flights out of Europe: the EU Court of Justice treats it as an internal business risk (case C-28/20). Air traffic control strikes, common in France, are external events: no compensation, though care and a refund or rerouting remain due.
Air Mauritius rejected your claim? Typical excuses
A fault found before a long-haul departure is part of routine fleet management. Only a hidden design defect reported by the manufacturer or the authorities can rule out payment.
EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07A cyclone that shuts the arrival airport is an extraordinary circumstance. If the warning had already been lifted or applied to another day, the excuse fails: we check the bulletins.
If the plane due to fly you was late reaching Paris, the delay is still the airline's responsibility, unless a proven extraordinary cause hit the previous flight.
Air France codeshares and non-covered routes
Air Mauritius sells seats in codeshare with Air France, including on the Paris route. What counts is the operating airline shown on your booking: if it is Air France, an EU carrier, the return from Mauritius to Paris is covered too.
- Mauritius–Paris operated by Air Mauritius: not covered
- Johannesburg–Mauritius: not covered, non-EU departure
- Geneva–Mauritius: covered, as Switzerland applies the same rules
Claiming from Air Mauritius: alone or with DelayFlight24
You can write to customer service through airmauritius.com, giving the flight number, booking reference and every passenger's details. The two options compared:
Free, but you chase an airline based in the Indian Ocean. If it ignores or rejects you, your fallback is the national enforcement body of the departure country (the CAA for UK flights) or the courts, at your own expense.
Two minutes to complete the form and sign online. Claim, formal demand and court action are handled by our own lawyers. You pay only on success: 25% + VAT. Legal costs are ours, even if the case is lost.
Claim already rejected
Send us the airline's reply: if the refusal is poorly reasoned, we pick the case up with a formal demand.
Useful documents
- E-ticket or boarding passA tour operator confirmation also works.
- PassportFor each passenger, children included.
- Notices and receiptsSchedule-change or cancellation emails and expense receipts.
Deadline for claiming
The Regulation sets no deadline of its own; national law of the country where you claim applies (EU Court of Justice, case C-139/11). Even a Mauritius trip from a few years ago may not be too late: enter the date and we will check.
When Air Mauritius compensation arrives
When the airline accepts, payment generally takes a few weeks. If a formal demand or court action is needed, expect several months. From €600 you keep €417, which we transfer as soon as it reaches us.
Delayed or damaged bags with Air Mauritius
Luggage falls under the Montreal Convention, not Regulation 261/2004. In Mauritius, before leaving baggage reclaim, file a PIR at the baggage desk; then send a written claim within 7 days for damage, or within 21 days of delivery if your case arrived late.
Air Mauritius contacts and flight status
- Head office
- Air Mauritius, Port Louis, Mauritius
- Hub
- Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, Plaisance
- Claims
- Customer service via airmauritius.com
- Frequent flyer
- Kestrelflyer
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