ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261
The airline says it told my travel agent. Does that count?
Not unless the news actually reached you in time. The Court of Justice held on 11 May 2017 in Krijgsman that the airline pays Art. 7 compensation where the passenger was not personally informed at least two weeks ahead, even though it had told the booking agent in good time. Under Art. 5(4) the airline carries the burden of proving you were informed, and when.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
Booking platforms count as intermediaries too
In Airhelp v Laudamotion the airline had emailed the reservation address generated by a booking platform weeks ahead; the passengers saw nothing until four days before. The Court held on 21 December 2021 that communicating with the intermediary alone is not informing the passenger, unless the passenger expressly authorised the intermediary to receive it.
What this does to the notice windows
The 14 day clock in Art. 5(1)(c) runs to the day you were told, not the day the airline told someone else. If that leaves the notice short, compensation is due unless the replacement flight fell inside the timing margins.
The airline's remedy is not your problem
A carrier that paid because an agent sat on the notice can pursue the agent under national law. Art. 13 preserves that recourse; it does not reduce what the passenger receives.
THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER
SOURCES
- Case C-302/16 Krijgsman v Surinaamse Luchtvaart Maatschappij, judgment of 11 May 2017 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Case C-263/20 Airhelp v Laudamotion, judgment of 21 December 2021 (ECLI:EU:C:2021:1039) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 5(1)(c) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
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