Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) handles around 1,500 aircraft movements a day in peak season and is one of Europe's three largest connecting hubs. That density of traffic, combined with tight transfers inside Terminal 2 and frequent Île-de-France weather disruption, makes delays a statistical reality at Roissy. The good news for passengers: when a flight reaches its final destination three hours late or more, European Regulation EC 261/2004 can trigger a fixed compensation of up to €600 per passenger.
Is your CDG flight covered?
Two scenarios bring you under European protection:
- Any flight departing from Paris CDG, regardless of the airline. Air France, easyJet, Delta, Emirates, United, Qatar Airways — departing from an EU airport is enough.
- Any flight arriving at CDG from a non-EU country, provided it is operated by an EU-based carrier. A New York–CDG flight operated by Air France qualifies; the same route flown by American Airlines does not.
The delay is measured on arrival, at the moment at least one aircraft door is opened — not at take-off. A departure pushed back four hours but partly recovered in flight, landing 2 hours 45 minutes late, does not meet the threshold.
How much can you claim?
Amounts are flat-rate and unrelated to the ticket price:
- €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less (CDG–Nice, CDG–Milan, CDG–Barcelona).
- €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km (CDG–Athens, CDG–Marrakech, CDG–Tel Aviv).
- €600 for flights over 3,500 km outside the EU (CDG–New York, CDG–Dakar, CDG–Tokyo, CDG–Johannesburg).
Distance is calculated as the great-circle route between the first departure airport and the final destination, ignoring intermediate stops. For long-haul flights above 3,500 km, the airline may halve the amount if the arrival delay stays under four hours.
Your right to care while you wait at Roissy
Separately from compensation, the airline owes you assistance once the waiting threshold is reached: two hours for short flights, three hours for medium-haul, four hours for long-haul. That means free meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and hotel accommodation plus transfers if departure is postponed to the next day. CDG has service desks in every terminal, but during mass disruption many passengers end up paying out of pocket. Always keep receipts — reasonable expenses are reimbursable. If the delay reaches five hours, you may abandon the trip entirely and request a full refund within seven days.
Missed connections in Terminal 2: a very common CDG scenario
The Air France hub builds connections that can be under an hour between halls 2E, 2F and 2G, and many Skyteam and partner itineraries transit there. When an inbound flight arrives late and you miss your onward sector, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Folkerts, C-11/11) confirmed that what matters is the delay at your final destination, as long as both segments are on a single booking. A Manchester–CDG flight delayed by 50 minutes causing you to miss CDG–Montreal and arrive 11 hours late therefore opens a €600 claim.
When the airline does not have to pay
Carriers can be exempted by proving an extraordinary circumstance that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures: severe weather, air traffic control strikes, airspace closure, bird strike, a medical emergency on board, or security incidents. By contrast, routine technical faults, crew rostering problems, operational planning errors and strikes by the airline's own staff (Krüsemann, C-195/17) do not remove your right to compensation. Reasons announced verbally at the gate are often vague and are not binding — ask for a written explanation.
Step-by-step: what to do
- Gather evidence on the spot: photos of departure boards, boarding passes, baggage tags, and the actual time the doors opened on arrival.
- Request written confirmation of the cause of delay from the airline desk, or keep the SMS/email notifications you received.
- Keep every receipt for meals, taxis, hotel nights and transfers.
- Submit a written claim to the operating carrier quoting EC 261/2004, the flight number, the date and the amount due.
- If the answer is unsatisfactory, the file can be referred to the French travel mediation body (Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage) or reported to the DGAC, the national enforcement body for flights departing from France.
How far back can you go?
Under French law, the general limitation period allows claims for flights operated up to three years ago. A flight delayed out of CDG in October 2023 can still be claimed today. After that, the right lapses — so checking old boarding passes is often worth the effort, especially for families, where each passenger holds an individual right.
Check your eligibility in two minutes
Airlines Quick Refund handles claims amicably with the airlines and charges a 35% commission on success only — nothing if no compensation is recovered. Enter your delayed CDG flight in our compensation calculator for an instant estimate of what you may be owed.