Air Austral compensation claim form and evidence

Published:

An effective Air Austral claim is a short, verifiable case file rather than a long account of the holiday. Air Austral publishes a post-travel customer channel and a separate refund route. Choose the correct remedy, identify the operating carrier, explain why EU261 covers the direction, and preserve a copy of every field and attachment.

Free eligibility check

Check your case in the form

Enter your route, date and type of disruption. We will check whether your case qualifies for a claim under EU 261/2004 or UK261.

Step 1 of 813% completed

What happened to your flight?

Claim up to €600 for a delayed or cancelled flight.

Choose the situation that applies to your flight:

Decide exactly what you are claiming

Use separate headings for fixed compensation, ticket refund or rerouting, and care expenses. Fixed compensation addresses a qualifying delay, cancellation or denied boarding. A refund concerns unused transport; rerouting concerns completion of the journey. Care reimburses reasonable meals, hotel and transfers when the airline failed to provide them.

Do not add baggage damage to the EU261 total. Montreal claims require their own facts, deadlines and proof. Likewise, package rights against an organiser and a claim for other proved losses are distinct. Precision prevents the airline from treating a multi-part request as an unclear refund query.

Verify direction and operating carrier first

EU261 covers departures from EU territory regardless of airline and third-country arrivals into the EU when an EU carrier operates. Air Austral is French; Réunion and Mayotte are EU outermost regions. Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles are third countries.

Read the “operated by” line on each affected coupon. A UU code can be attached to a flight performed by EWA Air, Air France or another partner. The statutory flight claim normally goes to the operating carrier. On one connecting contract, identify the final destination; do not merge separately purchased tickets.

Gather evidence before opening the form

Create one folder containing the booking confirmation, e-ticket receipt, boarding passes, cancellation or delay notices, replacement itinerary and correspondence. Record scheduled and actual arrival at the ticketed final destination. Keep itemised receipts and proof of payment for necessary care purchases.

For cancellation, preserve the first notice and its timestamp. For delay, note when a door opened and disembarkation became possible. For denied boarding, retain check-in evidence and the written notice. If the airline cites weather or another external event, ask for the precise cause and its link to your flight.

Submit the Air Austral claim step by step

  1. Confirm that Air Austral actually operated the disrupted sector and note the full flight number, date and airports.
  2. State the booking reference, ticket number and each passenger’s name exactly as issued.
  3. Explain the territorial basis: EU departure, or Air Austral-operated arrival from a genuine third country into EU territory.
  4. Give a compact timeline, including notice time for cancellation or scheduled and actual final arrival for delay.
  5. Request fixed compensation in the correct band and explain the route classification.
  6. List any refund, rerouting or care request separately, matching each expense to an itemised receipt.
  7. Upload only legible, relevant files with descriptive names and keep local copies of them.
  8. Save the completed text, screenshots, confirmation number and submission date.

That visible record matters if the form later shows no history or an attachment fails. Never send original paper documents.

Calculate without the Réunion trap

The current EU261 bands as at 9 September 2026 are EUR 250, EUR 400 and EUR 600. Paris–Réunion is intra-EU because Réunion is EU territory. At over 1,500 kilometres it normally falls in the EUR 400 band, not EUR 600. A protected route over 3,500 kilometres between a genuine third country and EU territory may fall in the EUR 600 band.

The July 2026 reform has deferred application. Its future nine-month claim period is not the current deadline. Do not let a future rule shorten a claim today, while still acting promptly under the limitation rules applicable to the competent forum.

Example of a clean submission

Noah holds one ticket from Paris to Dzaoudzi via Saint-Denis. An Air Austral-operated first sector suffers an ordinary technical delay; he misses the connection and arrives in Mayotte four hours and ten minutes late. His claim states the final destination, includes both coupons and requests EUR 400 as a qualifying intra-EU journey over 1,500 kilometres.

He adds EUR 24.60 for a reasonable airport meal under a separate “care expenses” heading and attaches the receipt. He does not describe it as part of the EUR 400. If the airline alleges extraordinary circumstances, his response can focus on the cause and reasonable measures rather than reconstructing the booking.

Follow up on the issue actually disputed

If Air Austral disputes operation, resend the coupon showing “operated by”. If it treats Réunion as a third country or chooses EUR 600, correct the territorial classification even if the larger number appears attractive; a legally coherent claim is more durable. If it cites extraordinary circumstances, ask for the event, causal link and reasonable measures.

Air Austral identifies Médiation Tourisme Voyage after the relevant prior-complaint conditions are met. DGAC enforcement serves a supervisory function and is not the same as obtaining an individual payment. Preserve a complete record whichever route is later appropriate.

Questions about the claim submission with Air Austral

Should every remedy go in one total?

No. State fixed compensation, refund or rerouting, and care expenses separately, with separate evidence.

What proves the operating carrier?

The original e-ticket coupon and boarding pass showing “operated by” are usually the best starting documents.

Do I need the exact reason before filing?

No. Submit the known facts promptly and ask Air Austral to identify and prove any cause defence.

Is the new nine-month deadline already current?

No. The July 2026 reform has deferred application; do not present that future period as the present filing rule.

Should I keep a copy of an online form?

Yes. Save the text, attachments, screenshots, confirmation and submission date before closing it.

Official sources