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Can the airline rely on telling my travel agent when I received the cancellation notice too late?

An airline’s message to an intermediary does not always prove that you were informed in time. EU guidance places the burden of proving notice on the operating carrier and distinguishes an agency receiving messages from an agency authorized to receive them for you. Preserve the actual delivery chain.

Traveler organizing trip records and next steps after a flight disruption

What this answer depends on

  • Flights and passengers within Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. Check departure, destination, operating carrier and the specific conditions below; the airline name alone does not establish coverage.
  • The operating carrier bears the burden of proving whether and when a passenger was informed of cancellation.
  • Commission guidance explains that an intermediary’s failure to forward a cancellation notice does not necessarily relieve the carrier of compensation obligations.
  • Whether the passenger expressly authorized the intermediary to receive notices on the passenger’s behalf can materially affect the notice analysis.
  • Third-party booking materially changes the evidence: obtain both the airline-to-agent message and the agent-to-passenger delivery record.

Important exceptions

  • This page does not conclude that every delayed email produces compensation. The original flight’s scope, the replacement timings, the notice window and extraordinary circumstances still matter. A spam-folder issue, incorrect contact details or an authorized recipient may present a different fact pattern.

What to do next

  1. Collect the airline’s claimed notification date, the agency’s forwarding date and the date you actually received the message. Keep original emails with headers when available.

  2. Find the contact and notification terms accepted at booking. Distinguish a general agency purchase from explicit authorization to receive airline notices on your behalf.

  3. Ask the airline to explain who it notified and what authorization it relies on. Ask the agency separately for the original airline message and forwarding record.

  4. Submit a single clear delivery timeline with any compensation claim. Address the notice issue independently of whether you eventually accepted a replacement flight.

  5. Have booking contact details, authorization terms, original message headers, agency correspondence, cancellation and replacement times, and the airline’s notice defense.

More booking questions

Is the agency automatically the only party responsible?

No. The carrier’s EU notice burden and the agency’s conduct are separate questions.

Checked againstRegulation (EC) No 261/20042024 Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Should I delete forwarded duplicates?

Keep the message chain until the notice dates and recipients are resolved.

Checked againstRegulation (EC) No 261/20042024 Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

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