Flight Delay Compensation: Your Rights on Flights to Vietnam
Long-haul delays are common. Knock-on effects from weather, air traffic control, or technical issues at connecting hubs — Bangkok, Dubai, Doha, Singapore — can push a Vietnam arrival back by three, five, or more hours. For information on booking those flights in the first place, see our flights to Vietnam guide. If your outbound leg departed from an EU airport, you may have a legal right to compensation worth up to €600. Most people never claim it.
What EU Regulation 261/2004 Covers
EU261 is the regulation that gives passengers rights when flights are delayed, cancelled, or overboarded. It applies to:
- Any flight departing from an EU airport, regardless of which airline operates it
- Flights arriving at an EU airport operated by an EU carrier, regardless of where the flight departed
For most Vietnam-bound travellers from the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, or other European countries, the outbound flight departs from an EU airport. This means EU261 covers the outbound leg even on non-European airlines — if you’re delayed three or more hours on arrival, or your flight is cancelled, you have a claim.
Note on the UK: Following Brexit, the UK has its own equivalent regulation (UK261) with substantially the same rules. UK departures are covered under UK261, not EU261, but the compensation amounts and eligibility criteria are very similar.
Compensation Amounts
The amount you can claim depends on the distance of the flight:
| Flight distance | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Under 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500–3,500 km | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 |
Hanoi is approximately 9,200 km from London, 9,000 km from Amsterdam, and 9,100 km from Frankfurt. Vietnam-bound flights from European airports are all in the €600 tier — the maximum amount under EU261.
These amounts are per passenger. A delayed family of four has a potential claim of €2,400.
What Qualifies for a Claim
You have a valid claim if:
- Your arrival was delayed by 3 or more hours (not departure — the clock runs to when the doors open at the destination)
- Your flight was cancelled with less than 14 days’ notice
- You were denied boarding involuntarily (e.g. due to overbooking)
Airlines can avoid paying compensation if they can prove the delay was caused by “extraordinary circumstances” beyond their control — genuine extreme weather, air traffic control strikes, and similar events. However, technical faults are generally not considered extraordinary circumstances, which means most mechanical delays are claimable.
How AirHelp Works
AirHelp is one of the largest flight compensation services globally. You submit your flight details and they assess whether you have a valid claim. If the claim is viable, they handle the entire process — correspondence with the airline, legal escalation if needed — and charge a commission (around 25–35%) only if the compensation is paid. No win, no fee.
AirHelp handles claims in multiple EU jurisdictions and has legal teams familiar with how different airlines respond. For passengers who don’t want to deal with airline customer service or pursue a claim through small claims court, it removes the friction entirely.
How Compensair Works
Compensair operates on the same no-win-no-fee model. The process is similar: enter your flight details, receive an initial assessment of eligibility, and let them pursue the claim if it looks valid. Commission rates are comparable to AirHelp.
For complex cases — particularly those involving connecting flights where the delay happened on an intermediate leg — it can be worth submitting to both services and seeing which one is more confident in the claim. There is no charge unless compensation is paid.
Time Limits
The time limit for submitting a claim varies by country:
- UK: 6 years from the flight date
- Germany: 3 years
- Netherlands: 2 years
- France: 5 years
- Spain: 1 year
If you had a delayed or cancelled flight in the past few years and never claimed, it may not be too late. Submit your details to AirHelp or Compensair to get an assessment — both services will tell you upfront whether your claim is viable.
Practical Notes
Keep records. Boarding passes, booking confirmations, and any airline communications about the delay are useful when submitting a claim. You don’t need extensive documentation for the initial assessment, but having it ready speeds the process up.
Long-haul delays are genuinely worth pursuing. A €600 claim per passenger on a delayed Vietnam flight is a meaningful amount of money. These services exist precisely because dealing with airlines directly is time-consuming and often unsuccessful without legal backing.
If you were delayed, AirHelp and Compensair are both legitimate, established services worth trying.
Your Rights
Claim Flight Delay Compensation
Eligible passengers can claim up to €600 for delayed or cancelled flights from EU airports. These services handle the paperwork and only charge on success.
We may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.