The European Small Claims Procedure for flight compensation

What the procedure is

The European Small Claims Procedure is a simplified court procedure available as an alternative to national procedures. It is mainly written: the court decides on the forms and documents, and only holds an oral hearing if necessary – by video or telephone where the court has the equipment, according to the e-Justice Portal. Judgments are recognised and enforceable in other Member States without any further declaration.

For air passengers it solves a practical problem. A Dutch resident whose Ryanair flight from Amsterdam was delayed, or an Irish resident whose Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt was cancelled, can sue without hiring a lawyer abroad.

Who can use it

• A cross-border case. At least one of the parties must live or be based in a Member State other than the one whose court hears the case (Article 3). A claim by an Irish resident against an Irish airline in an Irish court is not cross-border – that goes to the Irish small claims procedure instead.
• Up to €5,000, excluding interest, expenses and costs. A family of four on a long-haul flight (4 × €600) is well within the limit.
• Civil and commercial matters. Air passenger compensation is a civil claim.
• Not Denmark. For the purposes of the regulation, “Member State” means Member States other than Denmark (Article 2(3)).

Which court

The regulation does not decide which country’s courts have jurisdiction; the normal EU rules do. For air passengers, the Court of Justice held in C-204/08 Rehder that for a direct flight you can sue in the court for the place of departure or the place of arrival, as well as where the airline is based. So a passenger on a Lisbon–Vienna flight could sue in Portugal or Austria. Each country designates which courts handle European small claims; the e-Justice Portal has a page per country with the competent courts, fees, payment methods and accepted languages.

Step by step

1. Try the airline first, then the national enforcement body or ADR where available, and send a final demand. A court will want to see that you gave the airline a chance. Use our complaint letter template and letter before action template.
2. Download Form A (the claim form) from the e-Justice Portal. It can be filled in online and printed.
3. Describe the claim: the airline’s legal name and address, the flight, the arrival delay or cancellation, the distance and the amount under EU261 Article 7, plus interest and costs if you claim them.
4. Attach evidence: booking, boarding pass, the airline’s messages, your claim and its refusal.
5. Send it to the competent court by post or by any other means that court accepts, and pay the court fee.
6. The court serves the claim on the airline with an Answer Form, within 14 days of receiving a properly completed claim.
7. The airline has 30 days to answer. The court sends you any answer within 14 days.
8. Within 30 days of the answer, the court gives judgment, asks for further details, takes evidence or summons the parties to an oral hearing.
9. Enforce if needed. You can ask the court for a certificate, which may need translating, and enforce the judgment in the airline’s country under that country’s rules.

Fees and costs

Court fees are set by each country and differ widely. Under the 2015 amendments to the regulation, court fees must be proportionate and you must be able to pay at a distance, for example by bank transfer or card. The e-Justice Portal lists the fee for each country. As a rule, the unsuccessful party bears the costs of the proceedings (Article 16), but the court will not award costs that were unnecessary or disproportionate to the claim – so do not expect to recover the cost of a lawyer you did not need.

A worked example

A family of three living in Belgium flies Dublin–Brussels with an Irish airline. The flight arrives 5 hours late because of a technical fault, and the airline rejects the claim. The distance is under 1,500 km, so EU261 gives €250 per passenger – €750 in total, well under €5,000. The case is cross-border (claimants in Belgium, airline in Ireland), so the family can use the European Small Claims Procedure. Under the Rehder ruling they can sue in Belgium, the place of arrival, in French or Dutch, rather than in Ireland. They fill in Form A, attach the booking, the boarding passes and the airline’s refusal, and pay the Belgian court fee. If the airline does not answer within 30 days, the court can give judgment on the papers.

Enforcement body or court?

A complaint to the national enforcement body is free and does not require forms in a foreign language, but in many countries the body only gives an opinion and cannot make the airline pay. A European small claim costs a court fee and some paperwork, but ends with a judgment that can be enforced across the EU. Many passengers try the enforcement body or ADR first and keep the court as the last step. Watch the limitation period while you do.

UK passengers since Brexit

The European Small Claims Procedure stopped applying to the UK at the end of the Brexit transition period. nidirect states that it no longer applies to new cases lodged after 31 December 2020, and the Courts Service of Ireland says the Irish and European small claims procedure does not apply to the UK, including Northern Ireland. In practice:

• A UK flight claim (UK261) goes through UK routes: the airline’s ADR scheme or the CAA, then the small claims court in England and Wales, simple procedure in Scotland or the Northern Ireland small claims court.
• A UK resident on a flight from the EU (EU261) can complain to the national enforcement body of the departure country. Suing in that country’s courts is possible in principle but involves foreign procedure and language; this is where a claims company often makes sense.

Time limits

EU261 sets no time limit of its own; national limitation rules apply, and they vary from country to country. See our time limits guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer?

No. The procedure is designed to be used without one, and the e-Justice Portal states that it is not necessary to be represented by a lawyer at an oral hearing.

In which language do I fill in Form A?

The standard forms exist in all EU languages. In principle you fill in the form in the language of the court you send it to. Check the court’s language requirements on the e-Justice Portal page for that country.

Can I use it if I live in the UK?

Not from a UK court. The procedure no longer applies to new cases lodged in UK courts after 31 December 2020. A UK resident who wants to sue an EU airline in an EU court would need to check whether that court accepts the claim; in practice, the national enforcement body, ADR or a claims company is usually easier.

What if the airline is in Denmark?

The regulation does not apply to Denmark (Article 2(3)), so the European Small Claims Procedure cannot be used there. The Irish courts make the same point. You would use Danish national procedures or the national enforcement body instead.

How long does it take?

The regulation sets deadlines for the court: it serves the claim within 14 days, the airline has 30 days to answer, and within 30 days of the answer the court gives judgment, asks for more information or calls a hearing. Delays in practice vary by country.

Sources

1. Small claims (European Small Claims Procedure) – European e-Justice Portal
2. Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure (consolidated) – EUR-Lex
3. About small claims (EU claims and the UK) – Courts Service of Ireland
4. Overview of the small claims process (European procedure no longer applies after 31 December 2020) – nidirect
5. C-204/08 Rehder v Air Baltic – Court of Justice of the EU
6. Air passenger rights – claim your rights – Your Europe (European Union)

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