Regulation 2026/261 — the reform of the EU air passenger rights regulation — does not change the amount of compensation. The figures of 250, 400 and 600 euro stay exactly where they are. What the reform touches is how a claim is handled: clearer response deadlines for airlines and stronger duties to process a claim properly. In Romania the free official routes through ANPC (Autoritatea Națională pentru Protecția Consumatorilor) and AACR (Autoritatea Aeronautică Civilă Română) remain in place, and so does the three-year prescription period before a claim is barred at Judecătoria. This page walks through what changes in the claim process, what is still uncertain, and how a passenger from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași or Timișoara should pursue a claim in practice.
The problem the reform is targeting
The most common complaint under EU 261/2004 is not about the rules themselves. The rules are reasonably clear. The complaint is about how airlines apply them. The pattern is familiar to anyone who has ever pursued a claim from a Romanian airport: a flat refusal in the first reply, then silence, then an offer well below the amount the regulation sets out — and a process that drags on for months.
Passengers describe airlines that announce they "can reduce the compensation by 50 percent" with no legal basis, or send standard emails citing "an event outside our control" with no concrete explanation of what actually happened. Sometimes the airline simply stops answering after the initial acknowledgement.
That is what the reform is targeting. Not the amounts, which already work — but the airline's structural incentive to stall, deflect and dismiss. The reform is designed to remove the room in which a carrier can sit on a claim for half a year hoping the passenger gives up.
What the reform tightens
Regulation 2026/261 aims to tighten the requirements on how airlines handle compensation claims. Two areas are in focus.
Response deadlines. Under 261/2004 there are few explicit time limits for how quickly an airline must respond to and process a claim. The reform wants to introduce clearer deadlines. The exact shape — how many days, and what happens when a deadline is missed — depends on the final consolidated text on EUR-Lex , and we will not state any figure as settled until the official version is unambiguous.
More active handling. The reform discusses stronger duties for airlines to inform passengers about their rights and to process compensation proactively. How far such a duty reaches in the final text is not yet clear, but the intent is plain: shift some of the work back to the airline, which is the party that already has all the data.
The table summarises the difference:
| Element | EU 261/2004 (applies now) | Regulation 2026/261 (after transition) |
|---|---|---|
| Response deadline on the airline | Few explicit time limits | Clearer deadlines — exact level depends on the final text |
| Information to the passenger | Duty to inform, applied unevenly | Stricter requirements on information and handling |
| Official review route in Romania | ANPC and AACR, free of charge | Remains |
| Duty of care during the wait | Meals, drinks, hotel during a longer disruption | Remains; clarified |
No row in that table is a weakening of passenger rights. The reform shifts the burden a little towards the airline — but exactly how far is decided by the final text.
What does not change: the free Romanian routes
One thing is worth stating plainly, because talk of reform sometimes leaves passengers thinking everything becomes new: the free official route remains in place. If the airline says no, you can still file a complaint with ANPC, which handles consumer disputes at no cost to the traveller. AACR remains the national enforcement body for air passenger rights under EU law in Romania, with the power to sanction airlines that systematically breach the regulation.
The reform aims to strengthen the process — not to remove the free routes that already exist. For the full overview of the regulation as it currently stands, read our guide to EU 261 2026 delay thresholds .
The duty of care also remains. The airline's obligation to provide meals, drinks and, if needed, a hotel during a longer disruption applies under the reform exactly as it does today. It applies even when the cash compensation falls away because the disruption was extraordinary — that point was confirmed by the Court of Justice in McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013). One detail worth keeping in mind: if you accept a refund of the ticket, the duty of care ends at that same moment.
How to pursue a claim in Romania — whatever the rules
Until the reform's rules enter into force and the deadlines are finally set, the practical advice for a passenger flying through a Romanian airport is the same as under EU 261/2004:
- File the claim yourself. Do not wait for the airline to reach out. Assume you are the one who has to act. Write to the carrier with the flight number, date, route from or to Romania and a short description of the disruption.
- Keep your evidence. Boarding pass, texts and emails from the airline, a photograph of the arrivals board at Otopeni or Cluj-Napoca, receipts for meals and a hotel. The evidence is what decides the case in front of ANPC or a Judecătoria.
- Do not accept a low offer on reflex. An offer below the regulation's amount, or a voucher instead of money, is not something you have to agree to. Decline it and hold out for the full sum.
- If the airline refuses or stays silent — escalate to ANPC. The complaint costs nothing and is the natural next step. For systematic non-compliance, also report the carrier to AACR.
- If escalation fails, file at Judecătoria. Romanian small-claims procedure handles EU 261 cases efficiently, and the prescription period is generous: three years under article 2517 of the Romanian Civil Code. The CJEU confirmed in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11) that national prescription periods govern EU 261 claims.
A detailed walkthrough of each step is on our page about claiming flight compensation yourself or through a service . The reform shifts the emphasis — it puts more responsibility on the airline — but the basic moves for you as a passenger remain the same.
Three stalling tactics every Romanian passenger should recognise
The reform's response deadlines are designed precisely to tighten the patterns passengers have been running into for years. Recognising those patterns helps already today, under EU 261/2004.
The silent rejection. The airline does not reply at all, or replies with an acknowledgement and then nothing. Silence is not a legal rejection — it is grounds for escalation. Set your own time limit in your first email, four weeks for example, and move to ANPC if it passes without a concrete answer.
The disguised cost excuse. "An event outside our control" with no description of what actually happened is not a valid defence. Ask for a concrete explanation. Was it a technical fault, a weather situation, a strike — and whose? An airline that cannot pin that down will struggle to stand on extraordinary circumstances before a Judecătoria. The CJEU in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07) made clear that technical defects which arise in normal operations are not extraordinary circumstances. And in Krüsemann (C-195/17) the Court ruled that a wildcat strike by the carrier's own crew does not qualify either.
The low offer. An offer below the regulation's amount, or a voucher instead of cash, is a bid — not a verdict. You can decline it and hold out for the full amount. Never sign anything about "full and final settlement" if the offer is lower than the entitlement under article 7 of the regulation.
The reform's stricter handling requirements are meant to shrink the room for all three patterns. But even before those rules apply, the counter-move is identical: document everything, set your own time limits, and escalate to ANPC without waiting longer than necessary.
If you want a service to handle the whole process for you on a no-win-no-fee basis, see our breakdown of when that route makes sense: Check your flight compensation eligibility with AirHelp .
How this page fits with the rest
The claim process is one of three parts of the 2026 reform. The other two have their own pages: the new delay thresholds and the new definitions around extraordinary circumstances. For the full picture, see our overview of EU 261 2026 delay thresholds , and our deep-dive on extraordinary circumstances for the situations that can release the airline from paying. The Romanian-language original of this page is available at compensarezbor.com/eu-261-2026-procesul-de-revendicare/ for readers who prefer reading in Romanian.
Frequently asked questions
How does the claim process change under EU 261 in 2026 for Romanian passengers?
The reform does not change the compensation amounts of 250, 400 or 600 euro. It changes how a claim is handled. Regulation 2026/261 aims to set clearer response deadlines for airlines and stronger duties to handle claims correctly. The exact length of those deadlines depends on the final consolidated text on EUR-Lex and should not be stated as settled yet. For passengers travelling through Henri Coandă, Cluj-Napoca or Timișoara the free routes through ANPC and AACR continue to apply throughout the transition period.
Does the airline have to pay compensation in Romania without me filing a claim?
The reform discusses stronger duties for airlines to inform passengers about compensation and to process it more actively. How far that duty reaches in the final text is not yet clear-cut. Until it is, the safe assumption is that you file the claim yourself. Do not wait for the airline to contact you, and do not assume a payment will arrive automatically — even though the entitlement under article 7 may be obvious from the flight data the airline already holds.
Which claim process applies if my flight from Romania is disrupted right now?
EU 261/2004 and the current process. You contact the airline first, and if it refuses you escalate to ANPC (Autoritatea Națională pentru Protecția Consumatorilor). AACR (Autoritatea Aeronautică Civilă Română) is the national enforcement body that supervises EU 261 compliance in Romania. Both routes are free for consumers and are not affected by the reform for a disruption that happens today. If neither resolves the case, you have three years under article 2517 of the Civil Code to file at Judecătoria.
Do ANPC and AACR disappear as a claim route under the 2026 rules?
No. The free official route remains intact. You can still file a complaint with ANPC at no cost, and AACR continues as the national enforcement body for air passenger rights under EU law. The reform aims to strengthen the claim handling process — not to remove the free review routes already available to Romanian passengers.
How long do I have to file a flight compensation claim in Romania?
Three years from the date of the disrupted flight, under article 2517 of the Romanian Civil Code. The CJEU confirmed in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) that national prescription periods govern EU 261 claims, so the Romanian three-year rule applies even though the substantive rights come from EU law. After three years a Judecătoria will reject the claim as time-barred, regardless of how strong the underlying case may be.
Does the duty of care change under the 2026 rules?
The duty of care — the airline's obligation to provide meals, drinks and, if needed, a hotel during a longer disruption — remains in the reform and is clarified. It applies even when the cash compensation falls away because of an extraordinary circumstance, a point confirmed by the Court of Justice in McDonagh (C-12/11). If you accept a refund of the ticket, however, the duty of care ends at that moment.
This is not legal advice
This page is based on published and institutional sources. The rules around the 2026 reform are still in transition, and the response deadlines may be adjusted in the final consolidated texts. For advice on a specific case, contact ANPC (Autoritatea Națională pentru Protecția Consumatorilor) or AACR (Autoritatea Aeronautică Civilă Română), which supervise air passenger rights in Romania. For disputes that reach litigation, a Judecătoria has jurisdiction within the three-year prescription period set by article 2517 of the Romanian Civil Code.
Sources and further reading
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (the current consolidated text)
- CJEU Sturgeon (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) — three-hour delay equates to cancellation
- CJEU Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) — technical defects are not extraordinary
- CJEU Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) — national prescription periods govern EU 261 claims
- CJEU Krüsemann (C-195/17, 2018) — wildcat strike by the carrier's own crew is not extraordinary
- CJEU McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) — duty of care survives even when compensation falls away
- ANPC — Autoritatea Națională pentru Protecția Consumatorilor (consumer complaint route)
- AACR — Autoritatea Aeronautică Civilă Română (national enforcement body for EU 261)
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