Legal Obligation Reminder to Air France

EU Regulation 261/2004 clearly obliges airlines to cover reasonable expenses when cancellations occur under their control. Air France’s refusal to honour this obligation is a breach of passenger rights. My wife and I were booked on AF871 with a connecting flight AF1608 to Stuttgart, Germany. Following the cancellation, we were rerouted on Lufthansa and arrived in Stuttgart only on Sunday, 30 November 2025.

We had reserved a hotel room at Mövenpick Stuttgart Airport (Booking number PNXHDCTJ) for the night of 29 November. Due to the cancellation, I emailed to cancel the booking, but the hotel charged me R5,447 (approx. €270)for late cancellation.

I submitted this expense claim via the Air France Claims App, including my banking details. Despite replying multiple times to requests for information, I received an email on 30 December 2025 stating that my case was closed because the documents were “not received.” I have since attempted to reopen the case with difficulty.

My claim was reopened, BUT remains unprocessed. The expense was a direct consequence of Air France’s cancellation. I comp**** with all requests for information and provided my banking details multiple times. Last email was on 24 January 2026 stating "I would like to inform you that I am in the process of investigating your claim with the department concerned. Thus, there will be a short delay in responding to you. I assure you that your concerns are getting our utmost attention. I will revert once I receive the result of our internal investigation." As a pensioner, this amount represents a significant cost, and I kindly ask for your assistance in resolving this matter. As pensioners on fixed income, this R5,447 represents significant hardship. Under EU Regulation 261/2004 (applicable as AF1608 lands in EU), airlines must cover reasonable expenses from cancellations under their control when notified <14 days prior, which applies here (same-day morning notification).