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Air France: how to cancel, rebook or get a refund on your flight

26 Mar 2020 by Hannah Brandler
Air France A220

The coronavirus pandemic has caused huge problems for airlines, most of whom have had to ground most or all of their fleets. Air France is no exception. These decisions have resulted in millions of passengers wanting refunds for their cancelled flights.

What should I do?

Bear in mind that that all airlines are overwhelmed by the current situation, and so will be working through hundreds of flights with tens of thousands of passengers.

France is currently in lockdown. In those circumstances all aviation call centres, no matter how many extra staff they employ/contract with, are experiencing difficulties responding at the busiest time they have ever experienced. Also note that only citizens of the EU, the Schengen area or the UK, and their families, are authorised to travel to France at this time.

If your flight is not for this week or next week, it may make more sense to wait a few weeks until the airlines have sorted our resourcing issues in call centres and also improved their online refund procedures. Air France is also sorting out urgent repatriation flights.

For general advice on claims, including EU261 claims, see

Coronavirus: How to claim flight compensation

Air France has cancelled my flight. What are my options?

Air France allows you to either postpone your trip or complete an online form to request a refund or travel voucher.

Am I entitled to a refund?

This depends on your ticket.

Air France is not currently offering refunds on non-refundable tickets, even if the airline has cancelled the flight. Instead, passengers can get a travel voucher or change their flight at no extra cost.

Within the aforementioned online form, you must pick from various reasons for the refund request, including the following option:

Health situation (coronavirus): I no longer wish to travel on a flight scheduled between 3 March and 31 May 2020, and my ticket is non-refundable (I will receive a travel voucher valid for 1 year)

Air France is offering me a voucher instead of a refund.

Some airlines will offer a voucher for future travel instead of a refund. Obviously airlines would rather you rebooked with them, and this is one way of encouraging it. A voucher also has the advantage for the airline of allowing them to keep hold of your money and so help their cashflow.

If your flight departs before May 31, 2020, and you no longer wish to travel (or you have a non-refundable ticket and your flight has been cancelled), Air France is offering a travel voucher by filling in the online form. The voucher is valid for one year on all Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic flights. If the voucher is not used within 12 months, a full refund will be issued.

Postponing your flight

Air France is currently waiving change fees. This means you can change both the dates and destination without incurring a change fee. Instead you would only pay the fare difference (if the new flights are more expensive).

This applies only for customers booking directly with Air France through its website or at an Air France agency, for flights departing before May 31, 2020. Customers must book by September 30, 2020, with the new trip taking place on or before November 30, 2020.

Can I claim on my travel insurance?

Possibly, depending on when you booked your flight – and also when you took out your insurance. See the following article for advice on that.

Coronavirus: will insurance cover your cancelled trip? 

PLEASE DO NOT include your booking references, ticket numbers or names in the comments below. It contains personal information and should not be put on public forums.

We are trying to XXXX these out when we see them, but we are not the airline, and this is a public website.

airfrance.com

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