ANSWER · EC 261
How long do I have to claim compensation for an EU flight?
It depends on the country whose courts would hear the claim, and the answer ranges from 1 to 10 years. Cuadrench Moré held in 2012 that the time limit for a Regulation 261/2004 claim comes from each Member State's own limitation rules. Our published map covers 31 forums; Belgium and Poland sit at the short end.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
The principle
The Court held that the time limits for bringing actions for compensation under Articles 5 and 7 are determined in accordance with the rules of each Member State on the limitation of actions. The Montreal Convention's two year period does not cap the claim.
The practical consequence is that the departure airport is a material fact, because it usually sets the forum and the forum sets the clock.
Some of the most travelled forums
| DEPARTURE COUNTRY | PERIOD | RUNS FROM |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 5 years | From the date of the flight |
| France | 5 years | From the date of the flight |
| Germany | 3 years | From the end of the year of the flight |
| Italy | 2 years | From the date of the flight |
| Netherlands | 2 years | From the date of the flight |
| Poland | 1 years | From the date of the flight |
| Ireland | 6 years | From the date of the flight |
| Portugal | 3 years | From the date of the flight |
| Greece | 5 years | From the date of the flight |
What the periods are, and what they are not
A limitation period is the deadline for starting a court action, not a deadline for writing to the airline. Sending a demand does not stop the clock in most of these forums; issuing proceedings does.
Our rule set encodes each period as a conservative day gate, so the free check declines a claim only once it is past the point where the deadline could still be live.
THE JUDGMENTS BEHIND THIS ANSWER
SOURCES
- Case C-139/11 Cuadrench Moré v KLM, judgment of 22 November 2012 (ECLI:EU:C:2012:741) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 7 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 16 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
RELATED QUESTIONS
FREE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU USE US
If the position looks different on your facts, the rulings library sets out what each court actually decided, and the claim letter generator writes a demand you can send yourself.