EU261 complaints in Germany

The body the Commission lists for Germany

These are the details printed in the European Commission's list of national enforcement bodies, updated 13 July 2026. The body's role, in the Commission's words, is "to verify that transport operators are treating all passengers in accordance with their rights".

Which flights Germany's body handles

The Commission's complaint-handling procedure splits the work between countries by where the flight leaves from: "A NEB is competent for the complaints related to delays or cancellations of flights departing from its territory". Each body also takes "flights from a third country to its airports". For Germany that means:

• Every departure from BER, DUS, FRA, HAM or MUC, on any airline, because EU261 covers every flight leaving an EU airport (Article 3(1)(a)).
• Arrivals into Germany from outside the EU on an EU-licensed airline (Article 3(1)(b)). On this site: London to Frankfurt, Boston to Frankfurt, New York to Frankfurt, Newark to Frankfurt, Toronto to Frankfurt, Washington to Frankfurt, Chicago to Frankfurt, Atlanta to Frankfurt, Vancouver to Frankfurt, Denver to Frankfurt, Dallas to Frankfurt, Houston to Frankfurt, San Francisco to Frankfurt, Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Newark to Hamburg, London to Munich, Boston to Munich, New York to Munich, Newark to Munich, Toronto to Munich, Washington to Munich, Chicago to Munich, San Francisco to Munich, Los Angeles to Munich.
• Not flights into Germany from another EU country: those belong to the body of the country of departure — on this site Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Routes on this site that touch Germany

35 routes: 1 within Germany, 10 to other EU countries, 2 to the UK, 19 to the US, 3 to Canada, from 299 km (FRA–MUC) to 9,616 km (MUC–LAX). The EU261 amount follows the distance: 8 pay €250, 5 within the EU over 1,500 km pay €400 and 22 long-haul pay €600, for arriving 3+ hours late when the airline is at fault.

Before you complain: claim from the airline

The body is the second step. Write to the operating airline first, using its own claim form or customer-relations address. The European Commission's Your Europe guidance says that if the airline does not reply within 2 months, or the reply is unsatisfactory, the complaint can go to the national body. Under the bodies' shared procedure, the body sends the case to the airline and asks for a reply within at least 6 weeks; it expects clear cases to take 3–4 months and complex ones about 6.

Airlines based in Germany: Lufthansa (claim page); Condor; Discover Airlines. Condor averaged 6.1 complaints to Canada's transport regulator per 100 flights to and from Canada between October 2024 and September 2025. Discover Airlines averaged 3.1 complaints to Canada's transport regulator per 100 flights to and from Canada between October 2024 and September 2025. Lufthansa averaged 10.9 on the same measure.

The time limit for going to court instead follows Germany's own law (Moré v KLM, C-139/11); this site has not checked each country's statute. If the operating airline is British, a flight from Germany to the UK can also fall under UK261 — see the UK261 page.

Sources: European Commission: National Enforcement Bodies under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 13 July 2026); European Commission: NEB-NEB complaint handling procedure under Regulation 261/2004 (version February 2019); Your Europe: air passenger rights; Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EUR-Lex). Checked 2026-10-21. General information, not legal advice.