EU261 · AY

Finnair flight compensation

Finnair owes €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance when you arrive three hours or more late, or your flight is cancelled at short notice, for a reason within its control. Claim through its feedback and compensation form first; if it refuses, escalate free to the enforcement body of the country you departed from, which for flights from Finland is the Consumer Disputes Board.

Checked against its sources 5 Oct 2026

Typical amounts

€250 · €400 · €600

£220 · £350 · £520 under UK261. On a flight over 3,500 km outside the EU the amount can be halved if you arrive no more than four hours late, Art 7(2)(c).

Regulator

Where you departed

Home regulator: Consumer Disputes Board (Finland) (competent for flights departing Finland). Otherwise complain to the body where your flight departed, or for a flight into the EU from outside, the arrival country: see enforcement bodies. Traficom supervises only business travellers’ rights.

Registered in

Finland

An EU carrier, so EU261 also covers its flights into the EU from outside, including long-haul arrivals Art 3(1)(b).

Where to send it

Claim first: Use the claim request on Finnair’s feedback and compensation page.
UK flights: Finnair is not on the CAA’s list of airlines in an approved ADR scheme, so on a UK flight the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team may help (its view is not binding).
Germany: Finnair is not on the member list of Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr (formerly söp) dated 1 July 2026.
Anywhere else: The enforcement body of the country you departed from, or for a flight into the EU from outside, the arrival country Art 16. Free to use.

Before you accept a refusal

Our advice, not a description of how Finnair handles claims.

On long-haul offers, check the arithmetic: the 50% reduction in Art 7(2) applies only where the arrival delay is within the limit for the distance (four hours on flights over 3,500 km).
If the refusal cites winter weather, ask what the weather did to your flight and what the airline did about it. Under Art 5(3) the airline has to show the circumstance was extraordinary and could not have been avoided.
On a connecting itinerary booked as one ticket, compensation turns on the delay at your final destination, not on each leg (Air France v Folkerts, C-11/11).
The deadline for going to court is set by the country whose courts hear the claim, not by the airline: see time limits by country.

Claim it yourself first

Write to Finnair quoting the article. “I am claiming under Article 7 for a delayed arrival on [flight] on [date].” Free, and you keep the whole amount. Use the template.
Give them 28 days and diary the deadline.
Refuse a voucher offered in place of cash.
Escalate free to the enforcement body of the country you departed from, if they refuse.
Only then consider a claims service.

Work out what you’re owed →

Doing it yourself costs nothing and keeps the full amount.

Questions

How much compensation can I claim from Finnair?

The amount depends on flight distance, not on the airline or your fare: €250, €400 or €600 under Article 7(1), or £220, £350 or £520 under UK261. Finnair flies long-haul, so all three bands occur; on flights over 3,500 km the amount can be halved where the arrival delay is no more than four hours.

How do I claim compensation from Finnair?

Use the claim request on Finnair's feedback and compensation page, quoting Article 7 and your flight number, and allow 28 days. If it refuses, escalate free to the enforcement body of the country you departed from.

Which regulator covers Finnair?

It depends on where the flight departed, not on the airline. For consumers on flights departing Finland that is the Consumer Disputes Board; for a flight from another EU country, complain to that country's body, and for a flight into the EU from outside, to the arrival country's body (Article 16).