Whether you are heading off for a family holiday, a business trip, or a stay abroad, a cancelled trip is always a source of frustration and stress. Between cancelled plane tickets, lost hotel reservations, and modified package holidays, it is often difficult to navigate the applicable legal rules. Yet, French law and European regulations rigorously protect consumers, granting you specific rights regarding refunds and compensation. This comprehensive guide, written by the experts at AvocatAI, gives you all the key information and practical steps to assert your rights and get your money back.
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Air travel is one of the most highly regulated areas, notably thanks to European legislation which offers particularly strong protection to passengers.
This fundamental text applies to all flights departing from an airport located in a Member State of the European Union (as well as Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland), regardless of the airline's country of origin. It also applies to flights arriving in the European Union if they are operated by a European airline.
If your flight is cancelled by the airline, you systematically have a choice between two options (Article 8 of the Regulation):
In addition to a refund or rerouting, you can claim fixed compensation (Article 7 of the Regulation), unless the airline informed you of the cancellation at least 14 days before the scheduled departure date.
The amount of this compensation depends on the flight distance:
Concrete example:
> Example: Marc and Julie booked a direct flight from Paris to New York (approximately 5,800 km) for €800 per ticket. The day before departure, the airline cancels the flight due to a technical problem on the aircraft. The airline offers them a refund. Marc and Julie will therefore receive a refund for their tickets (€1,600 in total) AND, since the cause of the cancellation is attributable to the airline, they will each receive a fixed compensation of €600, making a combined compensation of €1,200. In total, they recover €2,800.
The airline can only exempt itself from paying the fixed compensation if it proves that the cancellation is caused by "extraordinary circumstances" which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Extraordinary circumstances include: extreme weather conditions (storms, volcanic eruptions), security risks (terrorist attacks, political instability), or strikes by airport staff (air traffic controllers). On the other hand, a strike by the airline's own staff or a technical problem on the aircraft does not constitute extraordinary circumstances.
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If you have purchased a "tourist package" (a combination of at least two types of travel services, for example a flight + hotel or train + car rental, purchased from a single operator for the same trip), you benefit from the protection of the French Code du tourisme (Tourism Code), which transposes European Directive 2015/2302.
According to Article L. 211-14 of the Code du tourisme, if the organizer cancels the trip before departure, they must fully refund all payments made by the traveler.
The refund must be issued no later than 14 days after the termination of the contract. Furthermore, the traveler may claim additional compensation at least equal to the penalty they would have had to pay if they had cancelled the trip themselves on that date.
The same Article L. 211-14 allows the traveler to cancel their trip before departure, without paying any termination fees, if "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances" occur at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity, and significantly affect the performance of the package or the carriage of passengers to the destination.
This is the case during major natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes), serious health risks (declared epidemics), or war. In this case, you are entitled to a full refund of the sums paid within 14 days, but not to additional compensation.
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For accommodation bookings made individually (without associated transport), the rules differ depending on the nature of the contract and the Conditions Générales de Vente (CGV / General Terms and Conditions).
If you pay a sum of money when booking, the classification of this sum under the French Code civil (Civil Code) is decisive in the event of cancellation:
Concrete example:
> Example: Marie rents a holiday apartment in Brittany for a week for €900. She pays €300 classified as "arrhes" in the rental contract. Two weeks before the stay, the owner informs her that he is cancelling the rental to house his family. Applying Article 1590 of the Code civil, the owner must return double the arrhes paid to Marie, which is €600.
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To maximize your chances of obtaining a quick refund and the compensation you are entitled to, follow these steps carefully:
1. Gather and keep all evidence: Safely keep your booking confirmations, e-tickets, boarding passes, email exchanges, photographs of cancellation screens at the airport, or cancellation certificates provided by the carrier.
2. Consult the General Terms and Conditions (CGV): Before taking any action, re-read the cancellation conditions of the provider (airline, hotel, booking platform). Identify whether your ticket/booking was "changeable and refundable" or "non-exchangeable and non-refundable".
3. Contact customer service in writing: Send a written complaint via the official form on the provider's website or by email. Specify your booking number, your bank details (IBAN) for the refund, and cite the applicable legal texts (for example, Regulation EC No 261/2004 for air travel).
4. Send a formal notice to the provider: If there is no response within 30 days, or in the event of an unjustified refusal, send a lettre de mise en demeure (formal letter of demand) by Recommandé avec Accusé de Réception (LRAR / registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt). This official legal document sets a final deadline for payment (usually 15 days) before legal action.
5. Refer the matter to a consumer mediator: If the dispute persists, you can refer the matter free of charge to the Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage (MTV / Tourism and Travel Mediator) for disputes with airlines, travel agencies, or hotels that have signed their charter. The referral is done online and suspends the statute of limitations.
6. Legal action: For disputes involving less than €5,000, you can refer the matter to the Tribunal de proximité (local court) by a simple free petition, without the obligation of hiring a lawyer.
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This depends on the origin of the strike. If it is a strike by the airline's own staff (pilots, flight attendants, stewards), European case law considers that this is not an extraordinary circumstance. You are therefore entitled to a refund AND the fixed compensation (from €250 to €600). If it is an external strike (air traffic controllers, airport baggage handlers), the airline is exempt from paying compensation but must still refund you or reroute you.
French law protects travel agency clients through a mandatory financial guarantee (often managed by the APST). In the event of the operator's bankruptcy, this guarantee body steps in to either ensure your trip goes ahead or fully refund the sums you paid.
Unless you purchased a flexible ticket (changeable and refundable), the airline is not required to refund your ticket if the cancellation is your doing, even for medical reasons. However, you can demand a refund of airport taxes (QW tax and QY tax), which are only due if you actually board. Furthermore, if you paid with a premium credit card or took out specific travel insurance, it may cover the refund upon presentation of a medical certificate.
Under European Regulation No 261/2004, the airline has a strict deadline of 7 days to process the refund of your cancelled plane ticket. For a package holiday (flight + hotel), the Code du tourisme imposes a maximum deadline of 14 days.
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Legal information for guidance only, not personalised legal advice. For your specific situation, ask your question free of charge on AvocatAI — answers based on French law, in your language.