airBaltic flight compensation: delayed or cancelled

Did you experience a disruption on your flight with airBaltic? Select the relevant section below to learn about your rights in the event of a delay, cancellation, denied boarding, or missed connection.

airBaltic counts as an EU/EEA airline, so these rules can apply both to flights departing the EU/EEA and to flights into the EU/EEA that airBaltic operates. The route and the actual operating carrier always decide a specific case.

As an EU/EEA air carrier, flights on which airBaltic is the operating air carrier come within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 both on departure from the EU/EEA and on arrival in the EU/EEA from a third country. The route and the carrier actually operating the flight nonetheless decide the position in each individual case: flights wholly outside the EU/EEA are not covered.

airBaltic states in its passenger claims FAQ that anyone submitting a claim on behalf of another passenger needs an authorisation form signed by that passenger. The airline says processing time is significantly extended if documents or bank details are submitted after the online form has been completed, and that the passenger must provide evidence of the amount of expenses or losses incurred. If care was not provided, airBaltic says passengers may be reimbursed for necessary, reasonable and appropriate expenses against receipts. On its passenger rights page the airline states that on longer delays it offers meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, and for a delay of five hours or more it describes reimbursement of the full ticket cost within seven days. airBaltic describes itself as the Latvian flag carrier, majority-owned by the Latvian state with 88.37 per cent of the voting rights and with Deutsche Lufthansa holding 10 per cent, and states a 55 per cent market share at its home base, Riga Airport. The Latvian Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) says that passengers must first contact the airline, and that it does not issue decisions on the enforcement of individual passenger claims.