In short: Flying to France from elsewhere in Europe, a delay of 3 hours or more is worth €250–€400 per passenger on typical routes (EU261, any airline); from the UK £220 under UK261. On the way home, EU261 covers every flight leaving France.
Your rights each way
| Direction | Rules | Covered airlines | 3h+ delay / late cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Another EU/EEA country or Switzerland → France | EU261 | any airline | €250–€400 |
| France → another EU/EEA country or Switzerland | EU261 | any airline | €250–€400 |
| UK → France | UK261 | any airline | £220 |
| France → UK | EU261 | any airline | €250 |
| Outside Europe → France | EU261 | only an EU airline | by distance, up to €600 |
Amounts are per passenger and depend on the great-circle distance between your airports – the ranges cover the busiest routes. Whatever the cause, from 2 hours’ delay the airline must provide meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – where EU261 or UK261 applies. Living in France or flying from there? See how to claim in France.
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Airports in France
| Airport | Passengers 2024* | ATFM delay per arrival 2025 | Main cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) | 35,233,329 | 0.93 min | weather (56%) |
| Paris Orly (ORY) | 21,392,886 | 0.90 min | weather (52%) |
| Nice (NCE) | 12,347,451 | 4.12 min | ATC capacity (74%) |
| Basel (BSL) | 7,843,284 | 0.03 min | aerodrome capacity (91%) |
| Marseille (MRS) | 7,511,455 | 1.36 min | equipment (ATC) (63%) |
| Lyon (LYS) | 7,000,315 | 0.01 min | ATC capacity (60%) |
| Toulouse (TLS) | 6,121,398 | 0.78 min | ATC staffing (62%) |
| Paris Beauvais (BVA) | 5,653,938 | 0.40 min | equipment (ATC) (38%) |
| Nantes (NTE) | 5,492,491 | 0.51 min | weather (90%) |
| Bordeaux (BOD) | 5,131,829 | 0.89 min | ATC staffing (54%) |
| Ajaccio (AJA) | 1,552,010 | 0.04 min | equipment (non-ATC) (63%) |
| Montpellier (MPL) | 1,316,229 | 0.01 min | equipment (ATC) (100%) |
| Bastia (BIA) | 1,313,490 | 0.01 min | ATC capacity (100%) |
| Lille (LIL) | 1,165,422 | 0.01 min | aerodrome capacity (61%) |
| Strasbourg (SXB) | 871,179 | 0.21 min | special event (89%) |
| Biarritz (BIQ) | 850,070 | 0.00 min | – |
| Brest (BES) | 844,659 | 0.00 min | – |
| Figari (FSC) | 804,107 | 0.30 min | ATC capacity (58%) |
| Lourdes (LDE) | 512,905 | 0.20 min | ATC staffing (89%) |
| Rennes (RNS) | 473,170 | 0.00 min | – |
| Perpignan (PGF) | 398,906 | 0.07 min | ATC staffing (58%) |
| Calvi (CLY) | 299,280 | 0.07 min | ATC capacity (100%) |
| Caen (CFR) | 282,677 | 0.09 min | ATC capacity (52%) |
| Béziers (BZR) | 279,546 | 0.00 min | – |
| Hyères, Var (TLN) | 267,212 | 0.70 min | ATC capacity (98%) |
| Pau/Pyrénées (Uzein) (PUF) | 260,967 | 0.00 min | – |
| La Rochelle (LRH) | 258,012 | 0.00 min | accident/incident (100%) |
| Carcassonne (CCF) | 235,927 | 0.00 min | – |
| Limoges/Bellegarde (LIG) | 226,054 | 0.02 min | equipment (ATC) (79%) |
| Bergerac (EGC) | 223,002 | 0.00 min | – |
* Passengers on routes reported to Eurostat (both directions).
Routes from the UK to France
From the UK: in the CAA’s 2025 data the busiest French destinations from UK airports were Paris Charles de Gaulle, Nice, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Bordeaux. France also controls the airspace that many flights between the UK and Spain, Portugal and Italy cross. Flights departing from France are covered by EU261 whatever the airline; flights from the UK to France by UK261; flights from France to the UK by EU261.
Punctuality of the busiest routes in 2025, from UK Civil Aviation Authority data (departures from UK airports).
| Route | Flights | On time | 3h+ late | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow – Paris | 9,251 | 75.0% | 0.17% | 1.64% |
| Manchester – Paris | 5,373 | 56.8% | 0.99% | 1.41% |
| London Heathrow – Nice | 5,240 | 72.1% | 0.21% | 1.52% |
| Edinburgh – Paris | 3,634 | 66.7% | 0.33% | 1.41% |
| London Gatwick – Nice | 3,340 | 53.9% | 1.10% | 1.39% |
| Birmingham – Paris | 3,129 | 73.2% | 0.06% | 1.11% |
| London Gatwick – Paris | 2,899 | 65.3% | 0.38% | 2.09% |
| London Luton – Paris | 2,395 | 70.2% | 0.46% | 0.42% |
| London Heathrow – Marseille | 2,150 | 76.3% | 0.18% | 1.47% |
| Newcastle – Paris | 2,075 | 67.9% | 0.57% | 1.28% |
| London Gatwick – Bordeaux | 2,072 | 69.3% | 0.53% | 0.86% |
| London Gatwick – Lyon | 2,011 | 71.8% | 0.75% | 1.23% |
| Bristol – Paris | 1,895 | 70.7% | 0.31% | 1.25% |
| London Heathrow – Toulouse | 1,868 | 80.6% | 0.42% | 1.06% |
| London Heathrow – Lyon | 1,730 | 80.5% | 0.51% | 1.48% |
| London Gatwick – Paris | 1,552 | 82.6% | 0.00% | 1.34% |
| London Stansted – Marseille | 1,407 | 58.3% | 0.85% | 0.42% |
| Glasgow – Paris | 1,394 | 67.2% | 0.21% | 1.62% |
| London Gatwick – Nantes | 1,135 | 73.4% | 0.17% | 1.05% |
| London Stansted – Nantes | 1,118 | 71.9% | 0.71% | 0.80% |
Busiest European routes
- Paris Orly – Nice1,598,238 pax
- Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas – Paris Orly1,585,160 pax
- Lisbon – Paris Orly1,545,371 pax
- Barcelona El Prat – Paris Charles de Gaulle1,291,815 pax
- Paris Orly – Toulouse1,276,245 pax
- Rome Fiumicino – Paris Orly1,185,444 pax
- Paris Orly – Porto1,139,251 pax
- Barcelona El Prat – Paris Orly1,129,008 pax
- Amsterdam Schiphol – Paris Charles de Gaulle1,125,321 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Nice1,106,876 pax
- Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas – Paris Charles de Gaulle1,058,228 pax
- Istanbul – Paris Charles de Gaulle1,010,453 pax
- Rome Fiumicino – Paris Charles de Gaulle967,603 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Milan Malpensa898,970 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Copenhagen841,207 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Munich830,158 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Athens807,564 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Toulouse786,675 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Milan Linate761,818 pax
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – Marseille739,735 pax
Why flights to France are delayed
In 2025, air traffic flow restrictions held back arrivals at France’s airports by 0.99 minutes per flight on average (EUROCONTROL, 44 airports). The worst month was Nov. Air traffic control strikes affected arrivals on 28 days since 2024, most recently 29 September 2026.
Causes of air traffic flow delay (2025)
Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Weather and air traffic control restrictions are usually extraordinary circumstances – but the airline must show they caused your delay. Check what happened on your travel day.
Strikes
No strikes affecting flights in France are announced in our calendar at the moment.
Unions in French public services must file notice (préavis) at least five days before a strike. Since the law of 28 December 2023, air traffic controllers must declare individually at least 48 hours ahead whether they will strike. Usually one or two days before, the DGAC asks airlines to cut a set share of flights at named airports, and airlines choose which to cancel. There is no official national strike calendar for aviation.
Strikes in France · Strike calendar
Where to complain
- The airline first – in writing, with your booking reference. Use our complaint letter generator.
- National enforcement body: Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC), Bureau des passagers aériens – Complaints go through the DGAC’s online form (droits-passagers-aeriens.aviation-civile.gouv.fr)..
- Dispute resolution: Médiation Tourisme et Voyage (MTV): free, non-binding opinions, only for airlines that have signed its charter. You must first complain in writing to the airline and wait 60 days (or receive a refusal), then apply within 12 months of that complaint. Since Decree 2025-772 (5 August 2025) took effect six months after publication, an EU261 compensation claim in a French court is inadmissible unless you first tried consumer mediation, with limited exceptions.
- From the UK: if you flew from a UK airport or with a UK airline, you can also use UK ADR, the CAA or the small claims court.
Time limit: 5 years from when the passenger knew or ought to have known the facts allowing the claim (Code civil, art. 2224); confirmed for EU261 claims by the Cour de cassation, 1st civil chamber, 10 October 2019 (nos 18-20.490 and 18-20.491).
Tips for flying to France
- A French air traffic control strike also hits flights that only fly over France – between the UK or Ireland and Spain, Portugal, Italy or Greece. It is treated like a strike at your departure airport: usually no compensation, but care and a refund or re-routing are owed.
- DGAC flight-reduction requests usually come only one or two days before a strike, so check your booking the day before you fly.
- If you plan to sue an airline in France for EU261 compensation, try mediation first (for example MTV): without it, the court must declare the claim inadmissible.
- In EUROCONTROL’s 2025 data Nice had the highest average arrival flow-control delay of France’s large airports, mostly attributed to air traffic control capacity.
- French overseas regions such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and French Guiana are part of the EU, so flights from them are covered by EU261; overseas territories such as French Polynesia and New Caledonia are not.
Frequently asked questions
Am I covered on a flight to France?
From anywhere in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, yes: EU261 covers every departing flight, whatever the airline – €250–€400 per passenger on typical routes if you arrive 3 hours or more late. From the UK, UK261 covers every departing flight (£220). From outside Europe you are covered only on an EU airline.
Am I covered on the flight home from France?
France applies EU261 to every departing flight, so you are covered with any airline (€250–€400 on typical routes).
Who enforces passenger rights in France?
Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC), Bureau des passagers aériens – Complaints go through the DGAC’s online form (droits-passagers-aeriens.aviation-civile.gouv.fr).. Complain to the airline first; if it rejects you or does not answer, you can turn to this body. All national enforcement bodies.
Are strikes covered?
It depends whose staff are on strike. Air traffic control or airport strikes are usually extraordinary circumstances; strikes by the airline’s own staff are not (CJEU C-28/20). See strikes and compensation.
Data: Eurostat 2024, EUROCONTROL, UK Civil Aviation Authority 2025. Information only, not legal advice.
Sources
- National enforcement bodies under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 13 October 2026) – European Commission
- Médiation Tourisme et Voyage – FAQ – MTV
- Décret n° 2025-772 du 5 août 2025 relatif à la procédure applicable au contentieux de l’indemnisation des passagers – Légifrance
- Code civil, article 2224 – Légifrance
- Retard ou annulation de vol : 5 ans pour demander l’indemnisation (Cour de cassation, 10 October 2019) – UFC-Que Choisir
- Loi du 28 décembre 2023 – contrôleurs aériens : déclaration individuelle de grève – Vie-publique.fr
- Ryanair cancels 170 flights due to French ATC strike (3 July 2025) – Ryanair Holdings (SEC filing)
- Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Article 349 (outermost regions: Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira, French overseas regions) – EUR-Lex
- Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Article 355 (territorial application; Faroe Islands; overseas countries and territories) – EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – full text (Article 3: scope; recital 15: air traffic management decisions) – EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it applies in the UK (UK261) – Article 3, scope – legislation.gov.uk
- UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 (flights by destination from UK airports) – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- Airport arrival ATFM (flow-control) delay data, 2024–2025 – EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Unit
- Air passenger transport by reporting airport (avia_par), 2024 – Eurostat
- Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
- EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
- UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 – UK Civil Aviation Authority
We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.