EU Regulation 261/2004 has been the cornerstone of air passenger protection across the European Union since February 2005. It applies to all flights departing from EU airports and to all flights operated by EU-registered carriers arriving at EU airports. Since Corsairfly is a French carrier and the vast majority of its flights depart from Paris Orly (ORY) — an EU airport — the regulation covers essentially all Corsairfly operations.

The regulation creates three categories of protected disruptions:

Flight delays: Your Corsairfly flight must arrive at the final destination 3 or more hours later than the scheduled arrival time. Delay is measured at the moment the aircraft doors are opened at the destination — not when it lands. If your flight departed 4 hours late but recovered time in the air and arrived within 3 hours of the schedule, you may not qualify. Conversely, a flight that departed slightly late but encountered air traffic congestion and arrived over 3 hours late does qualify.

Flight cancellations: Corsairfly must notify you of a cancellation at least 14 days before the scheduled departure for the cancellation exemption to apply. Cancellations communicated with fewer than 14 days' notice trigger full compensation rights, unless Corsairfly can prove extraordinary circumstances and offered a rerouting that minimised the disruption.

Denied boarding: If Corsairfly refuses to allow you to board despite you holding a valid booking and having checked in on time — most commonly due to overbooking — you are entitled to both financial compensation and a choice between a full refund and rerouting.

The regulation sets fixed, per-passenger compensation amounts based on flight distance measured as the great-circle (straight-line) distance between origin and destination:

For Corsairfly's typical routes from Paris Orly to the French overseas territories, the distances involved mean most passengers are in the maximum €600 tier:

Because Corsairfly primarily serves long-haul overseas territory routes, the vast majority of disrupted passengers are entitled to the maximum €600 per person. For a family of four, that means a combined entitlement of €2,400.

Step 1 — Gather your evidence. Immediately after a disruption, photograph departure boards showing the delay. Take screenshots of any SMS or email communications from Corsairfly about the delay or cancellation. Save your boarding pass, booking confirmation, and any receipts for expenses you incur (meals, hotels, taxis). The more documentation you have, the harder it is for Corsairfly to contest your claim.

Step 2 — Submit your claim to Corsairfly. Contact Corsairfly's customer service team through their official website or in writing. Your claim letter should state your full name, booking reference, flight number, scheduled and actual departure and arrival times, and the compensation amount you are claiming under EU Regulation 261/2004. Be clear and specific. Give Corsairfly a minimum of 6 weeks to respond before escalating.

Step 3 — Escalate if rejected or ignored. If Corsairfly rejects your claim or fails to respond within 6 weeks, you have two main escalation options. First, file a formal complaint with France's DGAC through their passenger rights portal. Second, use a specialist claims service — Avioza handles all escalation steps on a no-win, no-fee basis, including DGAC complaints, French Médiateur du Tourisme proceedings, and court action if necessary.

Corsairfly (IATA: SS, ICAO: CRL) was founded in 1981 as Corse Air International before rebranding to Corsair International and later Corsairfly. The airline is headquartered at Paris Orly Airport, its primary hub, and operates a fleet including Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 757-200 aircraft. Corsairfly's network is built around the French overseas territories — the DOM-TOM destinations that have strong personal, cultural, and family links to metropolitan France — making it one of the most socially important carriers in the French aviation market.

The airline has had a complex ownership history, with periods as an independent carrier and periods under the ownership of TUI Group and other travel conglomerates. Corsairfly is known for its Caribbean and Indian Ocean expertise, and on key routes such as Paris–Réunion it competes directly with Air France, often at significantly lower fares. The airline is regulated by France's DGAC and is subject to all EU aviation consumer protection regulations.

EU261 requires Corsairfly to provide practical care and assistance when your flight is significantly delayed, regardless of the cause. These obligations are separate from and in addition to financial compensation:

• Meals and refreshments: Vouchers or direct provision of food and drinks proportionate to the waiting time, activating from 2 hours for short-haul, 3 hours for medium-haul, and 4 hours for long-haul
• Communication: Two free phone calls, emails, or faxes to contact family or make alternative arrangements
• Hotel accommodation: If an overnight stay becomes necessary because Corsairfly's delay pushes your departure to the next day
• Transport: Free transport between the airport and the hotel and back
• Right to abandon: If Corsairfly's delay exceeds 5 hours, you may choose to abandon the journey entirely and receive a full refund of the unused portion of your ticket, plus a return flight to your original point of departure if you are mid-journey

Corsairfly must provide these care entitlements proactively. If the airline fails to do so, you can claim reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses you incurred as a result — keep all receipts.

Paris Orly → Réunion (RUN): This flagship Corsairfly route carries hundreds of thousands of passengers annually, many of whom have family ties to the island. A technical delay grounding the aircraft at Orly overnight would entitle each passenger to €600 compensation (9,300 km route), hotel accommodation, meals, and transport. The delay Corsairfly cites as justification — a hydraulic system fault — would not qualify as an extraordinary circumstance.

Paris Orly → Martinique (FDF): Corsairfly's Caribbean routes are among the most disruption-prone in the French overseas territory network due to the distances involved and the operational complexity of maintaining widebody aircraft. Any arrival delay exceeding 3 hours on this 7,100 km route entitles passengers to €600. If Corsairfly consolidated flights during low-season with fewer than 14 days' notice, cancellation compensation of €600 per passenger applies.

Paris Orly → Tenerife (TFS): On Corsairfly's charter routes to the Canary Islands, the 2,900 km distance places disrupted passengers in the €400 compensation tier. Overbooking during peak summer season is a common issue on these routes, and denied boarding claims are frequently valid.

Different EU member states apply different national limitation periods to EU261 claims:

For Corsairfly claims, the 5-year French limitation period typically applies since most flights depart from Paris Orly.

1. Document the delay immediately: Photograph the departure board showing the announced delay as soon as you see it. This is your strongest piece of evidence.
2. Keep all receipts: Every meal, drink, hotel, or taxi you pay for during the delay can be reimbursed — but only if you have the receipt.
3. Do not accept a voucher under pressure: Airlines sometimes offer vouchers at the airport during the chaos of a delay. You are not obliged to accept. Cash is your right.
4. Note the reason given: Pay attention to what Corsairfly staff say caused the delay. "Technical problem" is almost never an extraordinary circumstance — if that is what you are told, your claim is very strong.
5. Claim for every passenger in your group: EU261 compensation is per person. Make sure everyone in your party files a claim — or let Avioza file on behalf of the whole group.
6. Check your arrival time, not departure: A 4-hour departure delay that recovers to 2.5 hours at arrival does not qualify. A 2-hour departure delay that worsens to 3.5 hours at arrival does.
7. Act within the limitation period: France's 5-year window is generous, but evidence fades. File sooner rather than later.