Air Transat delay compensation: what you're owed and how to claim

Updated September 27, 2026 · Checked against the regulations as current to September 3, 2026 · By LandedLate

Air Transat owes $400, $700 or $1,000 per passenger, in cash, for a delay or cancellation within its control. The amount depends on how late you reach your final destination: 3 to 6 hours, 6 to 9 hours, or 9 hours or more. Nothing is owed if the cause was outside Air Transat's control or required for safety. You claim on Air Transat's flight delay claim form, which opens 48 hours after your flight arrives, within one year. Air Transat then has 30 days to pay or explain why not. Rules as of September 27, 2026.

How much Air Transat owes

Air Transat, delay or cancellation within its control
You reached your destination	Per passenger
3 to 6 hours late	$400
6 to 9 hours late	$700
9 hours or more	$1,000
Less than 3 hours late	$0

Per passenger, section 19(1) of the regulations. Data as of September 27, 2026.

Bumped from an overbooked flight for a reason within Air Transat's control? The amounts are $900, $1,800 or $2,400 (section 20). If you took a refund instead of a new flight, you're still owed at least $400 (section 19(2)). Every amount in one chart

When Air Transat has to pay, and when it doesn't

You're owed

The cause was within Air Transat's control (crew, scheduling, an aircraft change, most avoidable maintenance), you arrived 3+ hours late, and for a cancellation you were told 14 days or less before departure.

Worth challenging

The form or a reply says the reason “does not entitle you” to compensation, or cites safety or weather without detail. Submit anyway and ask for the evidence.

Not owed

A genuine cause outside its control: weather that made flying unsafe, an air traffic control instruction, a security threat, or a strike. You still get a new flight, or a refund if Air Transat can't rebook you within 48 hours. No meals or hotel are required.

How to claim from Air Transat

Wait 48 hours after you land. Air Transat's form only takes delay claims from then on.
Open the flight delay claim form at airtransat.com and choose “compensation claim”. Expenses you paid yourself go through the same form as a separate claim type, with receipts.
Enter your booking number, passengers and flights, then describe what happened in the details box (1,000 characters). LandedLate writes this text for you, with the sections of the regulations that apply.
Submit even if the form says you're not entitled. It lets you, and a reason within Air Transat's control can still be argued.
Keep the case number from the confirmation email and track the claim on Air Transat's claim status page. It has 30 days to pay or explain.

Write my Air Transat claim

Free. LandedLate takes no share of what Air Transat pays you.

The certificate of delay is for your insurer

Air Transat also offers a downloadable certificate of delay when a flight arrives more than 15 minutes late, up to 180 days after departure. It's evidence for a travel insurance claim. It doesn't ask Air Transat for anything, so if you arrived 3 or more hours late, file the compensation claim as well.

If Air Transat refuses, and how to answer it

If Air Transat says	How to answer it
Maintenance, “required for safety”	The agency has found a problem caused by poor maintenance within the airline's control: Sunwing paid $400 per passenger after pipes froze because protocols weren't followed (Anslow v. Sunwing, 20-C-A-2023). Ask what failed and when it was found.
A crew shortage	Staffing is within the airline's control. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the test: the airline must show it followed a reasonable plan to replace crew (WestJet v. Lareau, 2025 FCA 149). More on crew shortages
Weather	The airline has to show the weather made your flight unsafe to operate. The agency ordered $1,000 when an airline filed only undecoded weather reports (Beauchamp v. WestJet, 68-C-A-2023). More on weather delays
An earlier delayed flight	A knock-on delay counts as its original cause only if the airline took all reasonable steps to limit it (section 10(2)). Moving your crew to rescue another flight is the airline's own decision (Paridon v. Sunwing, 16-C-A-2022).
A travel credit instead of cash	You're entitled to money. A credit only counts if it's worth more, never expires, and you accept it in writing (section 21).

What else Air Transat owes you during the disruption

Food, drink and a means of communication after 2 hours (Air Transat gives meal vouchers), and a hotel with airport transfers if you're stuck overnight, when the cause was within Air Transat's control (including safety) and you were told less than 12 hours ahead (section 14). Not required for weather or other causes outside its control.
On the tarmac: drinks, snacks, working toilets and ventilation, and the chance to get off after 3 hours at an airport in Canada, unless take-off is likely within 3 hours and 45 minutes (sections 8 and 9).
A new flight or a refund after a delay of 3 hours or more or a cancellation (sections 17 and 18).

If Air Transat refuses or doesn't answer in 30 days

Reply to the refusal and ask for the specific cause and the evidence. If that fails, you can file a free complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency once you've written to Air Transat and either received its answer or waited 30 days. Expect a long wait: reports in 2026 put the backlog near 98,000 complaints. LandedLate writes the reply and prepares the answers for the agency's form.

Questions

When can I submit an Air Transat delay claim?

48 hours after your flight arrives. Air Transat's form won't accept a delay claim before then. The claim has to reach Air Transat within one year of the disruption (section 19(3) of the regulations).

How long does Air Transat take to answer?

Air Transat says it responds within a maximum of 30 days of receiving the claim, which is also the legal deadline to pay or explain why not (section 19(4)). You can check progress on its claim-tracking page.

Is the Air Transat certificate of delay the same as claiming compensation?

No. The certificate is a document for your travel insurer, available when your flight arrived more than 15 minutes late, up to 180 days after departure. Compensation under the regulations is a separate claim on the flight delay claim form, and starts at 3 hours late.

Air Transat's form says I'm not eligible. Can I still claim?

Yes. The form checks the reason on file and may say you aren't entitled, but it still lets you complete and submit the claim. If you think the reason was within Air Transat's control, submit it and explain why.

What if my Air Transat flight was operated by another airline?

Claim from the airline that operated the flight. Air Transat says so on its claim form, and the regulations put the duty on the operating carrier (section 2(1)).

Do I get compensation for a 2-hour Air Transat delay?

No. Compensation starts when you reach your final destination 3 or more hours late. At 2 hours you're owed food, drink and a means of communication if the cause was within Air Transat's control and you were told less than 12 hours ahead (section 14).

Sources

General information, not legal advice.