Lufthansa EU261 Claim Guide: Step by Step

A Lufthansa EU261 claim applies to flights departing from EU/EEA airports including Frankfurt FRA, Munich MUC, Berlin BER, Hamburg HAM, Dusseldorf DUS, and smaller German and Austrian Lufthansa Group hubs. Arrivals at non-EU destinations from EU origin, and return legs from non-EU origin to EU destination on Lufthansa metal, are also covered.

Standard tiers: €250 for under 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500 to 3,500 km, €600 for over 3,500 km. See EU261 calculator exact euro amount by distance for route-specific math.

• ›

  €250: Frankfurt to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich to Vienna.

• ›

  €400: Frankfurt to Rome, Madrid, Athens, Istanbul, Cairo.

• ›

  €600: Frankfurt to New York JFK, Chicago, San Francisco, Tokyo, Mumbai, Johannesburg.

1. 1

   Go to lufthansa.com/feedback and select "Flight disruption compensation".

2. 2

   Enter booking reference, flight number (LH + digits), and flight date.

3. 3

   Select reason: delay over 3 hours, cancellation, or denied boarding.

4. 4

   Cite EU Regulation 261/2004 Article 7 explicitly and state the euro amount.

5. 5

   Request cash by bank transfer, not Miles and More points.

6. 6

   Upload boarding passes, booking confirmation, and any SMS or email Lufthansa sent.

7. 7

   Submit and save the confirmation number.

Lufthansa's responses are often:

• ›

  Miles and More points: 25,000 to 100,000 points depending on route. Worth roughly $400 to $1,500 at typical redemption values, usually less than the euro cash amount.

• ›

  Extraordinary circumstances: frequently claimed for weather and ATC; many pushable.

• ›

  Partial payment: offering €250 when €400 or €600 applies.

• ›

  Silence: Lufthansa response times run 4 to 8 weeks on average.

Miles and More points expire. Cash does not. Lufthansa prefers miles because unused miles never leave the airline's balance sheet. Push back and demand cash under Article 7.

Germany's National Enforcement Body is the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA). Contact: fluggastrechte@lba.de. Response time typically 8 to 12 weeks. LBA rulings carry significant weight; Lufthansa typically complies within 30 days.

Germany has the highest EU261 compensation enforcement rate among member states. German small claims courts (Amtsgericht) also handle EU261 claims well if the LBA path fails. See EU small claims procedure cross-border for the cross-border variant.

German civil law applies a 3-year limitation period (measured from the end of the year of the flight). Generous compared to most EU jurisdictions. Keep boarding passes, booking confirmation, and all correspondence.

The same process applies to Lufthansa Group subsidiaries: Austrian Airlines, Swiss International, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, and Lufthansa Cityline. Each has its own complaint form but the same EU261 rules and amounts. See Brussels Airlines EU261 claim guide and Austrian Airlines EU261 claim guide.

For companion airlines see Aer Lingus EU261 claim guide, Air France EU261 claim guide, and KLM EU261 claim guide. For the pillar see EU261 Passenger Rights.

For primary regulatory texts and official guidance cited in this guide, see EU Regulation 261/2004 (Eur-Lex), European Commission Air Passenger Rights.