Malaysia Airlines: EU261, UK261 or Montreal Convention?
Three genuinely different frameworks can govern a Malaysia Airlines claim, and picking the right one from the start saves you from chasing the wrong remedy entirely. Given how narrow Malaysia Airlines' own European network is, this decision is actually more mechanical here than it might first appear — walk through a short checklist and the answer usually becomes clear quickly.
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.
What happened to your flight?
Claim up to €600 for a delayed or cancelled flight.
Choose the situation that applies to your flight:
First: what actually happened?
A delay, cancellation or denied boarding points toward EU261 or UK261, depending on territorial coverage. A lost, delayed or damaged bag, or certain other proven financial losses on an international journey, points toward the Montreal Convention instead. These are not interchangeable frameworks, and each has its own process and evidence requirements.
Second: which direction did your journey run?
| Your journey | Governing regulation |
|---|---|
| Departs Paris CDG | EU261 |
| Departs London Heathrow | UK261 |
| Departs Kuala Lumpur, arrives Europe | Neither — see the exclusion guide |
| Begins and ends entirely outside Europe | Neither |
Because Malaysia Airlines operates nonstop only to these two European cities, this table covers the great majority of genuinely MH-operated European-touching journeys. A journey through a different European city almost certainly involves a codeshare or oneworld partner for at least one sector, which needs its own separate check.
Third: did a oneworld or codeshare partner actually operate the disrupted sector?
If your journey extends beyond Paris or London to another European destination, or if any leg carries an MH flight number but was actually flown by a partner airline, that specific sector's coverage depends on the partner's own carrier status, not Malaysia Airlines'. The oneworld and codeshare guide explains how to confirm this.
Does the Montreal Convention care about any of this territorial detail?
No — its own scope is based on which countries are party to the convention, not EU/EEA/UK membership specifically, and it applies independently of whether EU261 or UK261 also covers the same journey. A single disrupted trip can generate an EU261 or UK261 compensation claim for a delay and a separate Montreal Convention claim for a lost bag at the same time.
Can more than one framework apply to a single trip?
Yes, and this is common rather than unusual. A cancelled Malaysia Airlines flight from Heathrow that also loses your checked bag during the resulting rebooking generates a UK261 compensation claim for the cancellation and a separate Montreal Convention claim for the bag, assessed and pursued independently of each other.
A decision checklist to work through in order
Confirm what actually happened. Confirm your true departure and true final destination. Confirm which of the two possible directions — Europe-departing or Kuala-Lumpur-departing — your journey follows. Confirm which airline genuinely operated the specific disrupted sector. Only once these four points are settled should you decide which framework to actually pursue.
A worked example
A passenger's Malaysia Airlines journey from Kuala Lumpur to Paris, connecting through no intermediate stop, is cancelled on the Paris-bound sector, and their checked bag is damaged during the subsequent rebooking process. Working through the checklist: since this journey departs Kuala Lumpur rather than Europe, the cancellation itself doesn't generate an EU261 claim. The damaged bag, however, is still assessed under the Montreal Convention, entirely independently of the territorial question that ruled out the cancellation claim.
Print or save this checklist for later reference
Keeping a simple written note of your journey's true origin, true final destination, and what actually happened is useful preparation before contacting Malaysia Airlines, regardless of which framework ultimately turns out to apply.
Why Malaysia Airlines' narrow network actually simplifies this decision
With only two direct European gateways, most passengers working through this checklist will land on one of a handful of predictable outcomes rather than facing genuinely ambiguous territory — a contrast with a carrier serving dozens of European cities, where the operating-carrier and territorial questions multiply considerably.
FAQ
How do I know whether EU261, UK261 or the Montreal Convention applies to my Malaysia Airlines issue?
Start with what happened: a delay, cancellation or denied boarding points to EU261 or UK261 based on territorial coverage; a baggage issue points to the Montreal Convention instead.
Does Malaysia Airlines' narrow European network make this decision simpler?
In practice, yes — with only Paris and London served nonstop, most genuinely MH-operated journeys fall cleanly into one of a small number of scenarios.
Can I pursue a Montreal Convention baggage claim even if my flight direction rules out EU261 or UK261?
Yes, the Montreal Convention's own scope doesn't depend on the same EU/EEA/UK territorial rules.
Can one disrupted trip generate claims under more than one framework?
Yes, if the trip produced genuinely separate problems — a cancellation and a lost bag, for instance — each assessed under its own applicable framework.
What if I'm still not sure which framework applies after working through the checklist?
Describe your full itinerary and what happened when contacting Malaysia Airlines directly, so they can help identify the correct framework rather than guessing yourself.
Keep a simple written record before you contact Malaysia Airlines
Note your journey's true origin, true final destination, and what actually happened — this preparation makes the whole process, regardless of which framework ultimately applies, considerably faster.
Does the framework question ever genuinely need a lawyer?
For most straightforward claims, no — the checklist above resolves the question without specialist advice. A genuinely complex or high-value dispute, particularly one that might end up in court, is where seeking independent legal advice starts to make more sense.
Don't let the layered legal framework put you off claiming
It's tempting to assume a situation involving three possible frameworks is too complicated to pursue, but the checklist above is genuinely mechanical once you know the basic facts of your journey. Work through it step by step rather than assuming complexity means there's no remedy available.
Keep the checklist handy for a future trip too
Even if you're not currently dealing with a disruption, keeping this checklist in mind before your next Malaysia Airlines booking helps you understand your likely position in advance, rather than working it out for the first time under the stress of an actual delay or cancellation.
A final reminder on scope
This decision guide covers only which framework governs your claim, not the specific amount owed or the filing process itself — the linked guides throughout this piece cover those next steps once you've confirmed the correct framework for your journey.