Airline Ignoring Your Compensation Claim?

If the airline has gone quiet after your EU261 or UK261 claim, do not keep sending short reminder emails forever. Build a clean evidence trail, send one firm follow-up, then escalate through the right passenger-rights route.

Quick answer

A silent airline is not a final decision. Give the airline a complete claim, save proof that it received your request, follow up in writing, and then escalate if there is still no useful answer.

Check whether your claim is worth escalating

Free eligibility check before you spend more time chasing the airline.

Before You Escalate, Check The Claim File

Airlines can legitimately ask for missing passenger or booking information. Escalation works better when your file shows that the airline had everything needed to decide the claim.

Original airline claim submission confirmation, email, or portal screenshot.
Booking confirmation and boarding pass or e-ticket.
Flight number, route, date, and final arrival delay proof.
Any airline message explaining the delay, cancellation, rerouting, or missed connection.
Follow-up email or portal message asking for a formal EU261 or UK261 decision.
Receipts for meals, hotel, transport, or calls if care was not provided.

Follow-Up Plan

Check that the first claim was complete

Before escalating, make sure the airline has your booking reference, flight number, route, date, passenger names, arrival delay, requested amount, and evidence.

Send one structured follow-up

Reply in the same email thread or airline portal. Ask for the disruption reason, the EU261 or UK261 decision, and a clear response deadline.

Prepare the escalation pack

Save the original claim, all airline acknowledgements, screenshots of the portal, your evidence, and the follow-up message.

Escalate to the right body

Use the airline complaint route first, then the relevant ADR scheme, national enforcement body, or small-claims route depending on country and airline.

What To Say In The Follow-Up

Keep the tone calm and documentary. The goal is to make the next reader, whether airline complaints, ADR, or an enforcement body, understand the issue quickly.

Useful lines to include

"Please confirm the specific reason for the disruption, not just "operational reasons"."
"Please confirm whether you accept or reject compensation under EU261 / UK261."
"If you reject the claim, please provide the evidence you rely on and the escalation route available to me."
"If I do not receive a substantive response, I will escalate with this correspondence and evidence pack attached."

When Silence Becomes An Escalation Issue

There is no single Europe-wide stopwatch for every airline complaint. The practical test is whether you have given the airline a complete claim and a reasonable chance to give a real answer. If the airline only sends automated replies, or ignores your follow-up, escalation becomes more reasonable.

Do not miss the limitation deadline

Waiting for a reply does not pause every national limitation period. Check the deadline for the country connected to your claim before you spend months chasing inbox replies.

Know Whether It Is Worth Pushing

Run the flight through the checker before you send a final follow-up or escalation complaint.

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Source note

This guide uses EU and UK passenger-rights claim principles and practical ADR/escalation workflows. Exact complaint deadlines and escalation routes vary by airline and country.

Disclaimer

This guide is provided for informational purposes only. FlightClaimGuide does not provide legal advice and recommends seeking independent professional advice for complex legal matters.