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Were you denied boarding?

We sincerely apologize if your journey was disrupted. Our aim is always to ensure our passengers have a smooth and enjoyable journey, but sometimes things unfortunately don't go as planned. 

Below, you'll find information about passenger rights when they are denied boarding according to EU regulation 261/2004. They apply if you are not allowed to board your flight even though you arrived on time and met all the required check‑in and boarding conditions. This does not include situations where boarding is refused for valid reasons, such as health, safety, security concerns, or if your travel documents are incomplete or incorrect.

The right to care

If you are denied boarding you may be entitled to care. This can include meals and refreshments, accommodation, transportation, and access to a means of communication. This does not apply if providing care would further delay your journey.

Care can include:

  • Meals and refreshments, in proportion to the waiting time.
  • Accommodation and transportation, if your flight is delayed overnight and you’re unable to return home or to your temporary accommodation.
  • Means of communication, if you need a place to call or send an email regarding the disruption.

Self organized care

Sometimes our team is unable to issue vouchers due to the volume of affected passengers. When that happens, we ask that passengers arrange care and claim reimbursement at the end of their journey through our Claims portal.

Meals and refreshments: In proportion to the waiting time. Please note that we don't reimburse the cost of alcoholic beverages.

Accommodation: Reasonable cost for overnight accommodation varies by location, see the list below.

Transportation: Public transport or airport shuttle between the airport and accommodation.

Communication: Cost of placing two phone calls, sending two e-mails or faxes.

All expenses must be directly related to the disruption and supported by detailed receipts in the passenger’s name where applicable. 

Reasonable cost for an overnight stay

EU regulation 261/2004 applies to journeys to the EU, Norway, Switzerland, or Iceland when you're flying with an airline based in one of those countries. It also applies to flights departing from those countries, regardless of the airline. It does not apply to trips that begin and end outside this area. For example, a journey that starts in the USA or Canada and ends in the Faroe Islands or Greenland, even with a transfer in Iceland, is not covered.

If you are denied boarding you may be entitled to care. This can include meals and refreshments, accommodation, transportation, and access to a means of communication. This does not apply if providing care would further delay your journey.

 

Care can include:

  • Meals and refreshments, in proportion to the waiting time.
  • Accommodation and transportation, if your flight is delayed overnight and you’re unable to return home or to your temporary accommodation.
  • Means of communication, if you need a place to call or send an email regarding the disruption.
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Sometimes our team is unable to issue vouchers due to the volume of affected passengers. When that happens, we ask that passengers arrange care and claim reimbursement at the end of their journey through our Claims portal.

Meals and refreshments: In proportion to the waiting time. Please note that we don't reimburse the cost of alcoholic beverages.

Accommodation: Reasonable cost for overnight accommodation varies by location, see the list below.

Transportation: Public transport or airport shuttle between the airport and accommodation.

Communication: Cost of placing two phone calls, sending two e-mails or faxes.

All expenses must be directly related to the disruption and supported by detailed receipts in the passenger’s name where applicable. 

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DestinationAmount
Faroe Islands | FAE180 EUR
Greenland | GOH, JAV, JJU & KUS250 EUR
Iceland | KEF, AEY, EGS, HFN, IFJ & RKV180 EUR
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Destination Amount
Alicante | ALC 170 EUR
Amsterdam | AMS 180 EUR
Barcelona | BCN 180 EUR
Bergen | BGO 140 EUR
Berlin | BER 150 EUR
Billund | BLL 180 EUR
Brussels | BRU 170 EUR
Copenhagen | CPH 170 EUR
Dublin | DUB 160 EUR
Edinburgh | EDI 160 EUR
Faro | FAO 160 EUR
Frankfurt | FRA 140 EUR
Gdansk | GDN 170 EUR
Geneva | GVA 180 EUR
Glasgow | GLA 150 EUR
Gothenburg | GOT 150 EUR
Gran Canaria | LPA 180 EUR
Hamburg | HAM 120 EUR
Helsinki | HEL 110 EUR
Lisbon | LIS 170 EUR
London | LHR & LGW 160 EUR
Madrid | MAD 180 EUR
Malaga | AGP 170 EUR
Manchester | MAN 150 EUR
Milan | MXP 150 EUR
Munich | MUC 160 EUR
Nice | NCE 180 EUR
Oslo | OSL 130 EUR
Paris | CDG 180 EUR
Prague | PRG 180 EUR
Rome | FCO 170 EUR
Salzburg | SZG 180 EUR
Stockholm | ARN 150 EUR
Tenerife | TFS 180 EUR
Tromso | TOS 140 EUR
Venice | VCE 180 EUR
Verona | VRN 180 EUR
Zurich | ZRH 180 EUR

For destinations not listed above, reasonable accommodation costs will be assessed on a case‑by‑case basis, considering local market conditions and availability at the time of disruption, including rerouting via alternative destinations, up to a maximum of EUR 180 per night.

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Destination Amount
Baltimore | BWI 150 USD
Boston | BOS 200 USD
Chicago | ORD 120 USD
Denver | DEN 150 USD
Detroit | DTW 120 USD
Halifax | YHZ 180 CAD
Miami | MIA 200 USD
Minneapolis | MSP 120 USD
Montreal | YUL 150 CAD
Nashville | BNA 120 USD
New York | JFK 200 USD
Newark | EWR 170 USD
Orlando | MCO 200 USD
Pittsburgh | PIT 120 USD
Portland | PDX 140 USD
Raleigh Durham | RDU 120 USD
Seattle | SEA 170 USD
Toronto | YYZ 150 CAD
Vancouver | YVR 180 CAD
Washington, D.C. | IAD 200 USD

For destinations not listed above, reasonable accommodation costs will be assessed on a case‑by‑case basis, considering local market conditions and availability at the time of disruption, including rerouting via alternative destinations, up to a maximum of EUR 180 per night.

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EU regulation 261/2004 applies to journeys to the EU, Norway, Switzerland, or Iceland when you're flying with an airline based in one of those countries. It also applies to flights departing from those countries, regardless of the airline. It does not apply to trips that begin and end outside this area. For example, a journey that starts in the USA or Canada and ends in the Faroe Islands or Greenland, even with a transfer in Iceland, is not covered.

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If you're denied boarding without there being reasonable grounds for this denial, you may be entitled to rerouting or reimbursement.

Rerouting

When possible, we reroute all eligible passengers on disrupted flights automatically. We send all notifications and updated itineraries to the email registered in the booking, so it's important to make sure that is correct. You can double check it in Manage booking or the Icelandair app. Sometimes automatic rerouting is not possible due to the number of affected passengers. In that case, passengers can request rerouting to their final destination on the next available Icelandair flight, under comparable transport conditions, if there are seats available.

Reimbursement

You can choose not to travel and have the unused parts of your ticket refunded for all passengers on the same booking. You can cancel or change your booking in Manage booking and request a refund here.

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EU regulation 261/2004 applies to journeys to the EU, Norway, Switzerland, or Iceland when you're flying with an airline based in one of those countries. It also applies to flights departing from those countries, regardless of the airline. It does not apply to trips that begin and end outside this area. For example, a journey that starts in the USA or Canada and ends in the Faroe Islands or Greenland, even with a transfer in Iceland, is not covered.

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If you are denied boarding on a flight, you may be entitled to compensation. The amount of compensation depends on the length of the flight and the delay experienced in reaching your final destination. Compensation amounts are as follows:

All flights 1500 km or shorter:

  • EUR 125 if you are offered an alternative flight that gets you to your final destination within 2 hours of the scheduled arrival time of the original flight.
  • EUR 250 if you arrive more than 2 hours after the scheduled arrival time of the original flight.

All intra-Community flights* over 1500 km or all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km:

  • EUR 200 if you are offered an alternative flight that gets you to your final destination within 3 hours of the scheduled arrival time of the original flight.
  • EUR 400 if you arrive more than 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time of the original flight.

All flights not covered by the above categories:

  • EUR 300 if you are offered an alternative flight that gets you to your final destination within 4 hours of the scheduled arrival time of the original flight.
  • EUR 600 if you arrive more than 4 hours after the scheduled arrival time of the original flight.

When are you not entitled to compensation?

Compensation does not apply if:

  • You volunteered to give up your seat in exchange for benefits.
  • There are reasonable grounds to deny boarding, such as reasons of health, safety, or security, or inadequate travel documentation.

 

A list of the relevant authorities responsible for ensuring the legal rights of passengers can be found under Europa.eu.

 

*Intra-Community flights refer to flights within the European Union (EU) and also include countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), such as Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This means that flights between these countries, as well as flights from these countries to the EU, are covered under the same passenger rights regulations. Additionally, flights from outside the EU and EEA to an EU or EEA member state are also protected if operated by an EU or EEA airline.

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EU regulation 261/2004 applies to journeys to the EU, Norway, Switzerland, or Iceland when you're flying with an airline based in one of those countries. It also applies to flights departing from those countries, regardless of the airline. It does not apply to trips that begin and end outside this area. For example, a journey that starts in the USA or Canada and ends in the Faroe Islands or Greenland, even with a transfer in Iceland, is not covered.

Other regions

Traveling outside Europe? Passengers rights vary based on point of origin and destination. Find information regarding other regions below.

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