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Which direction were you flying?
Leaving the EU, EEA or the UK. Covered, always. The regimes attach to the departure airport, so Icelandair is on the hook for a flight out of Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid or anywhere else in the bloc exactly as a European airline would be.
Arriving in the EU or the UK from outside. Icelandair holds an EU licence, so a flight into the EU or EEA from anywhere in the world is covered by EU261. That is the valuable half of the rule: fly home to Europe with them from New York, Dubai or Singapore and a three-hour delay is claimable, where the same route on a non-European carrier would pay nothing.
Iceland is in the EEA.
What you would be paid
EU261 amounts, per passenger, by great-circle distance to your final destination.
| Flight distance | Compensation | Reduced amount |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 | — |
| Over 1,500 km within the EU | €400 | — |
| 1,500–3,500 km | €400 | — |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 | €300 if 3–4h late |
Flights touching Canada
On flights to, from or within Canada, Icelandair is subject to the APPR as a large carrier, which pays CA$400, CA$700 or CA$1,000 depending on whether you arrived 3–6, 6–9 or 9+ hours late.
Canadian claims must go to the airline within one year of the flight, which is far tighter than Europe. See the APPR page.
Flights to and from the United States
US law gives you nothing for a delay. That makes Icelandair a materially better bet on transatlantic routes than a US carrier: flying Europe to the States you are covered on departure, and coming back you are covered too because Icelandair is an EU carrier. On a US airline the return leg pays nothing. What you do have is an automatic cash refund if the flight is cancelled, and a real payment scale for being involuntarily bumped. The US rules in full.
Claiming from Icelandair
Go direct first, through the airline's own complaints form so the claim gets a reference number. Quote the regulation, the distance band and the figure — our template letter does all three, which is what separates a real answer from a goodwill reply. If they refuse or ignore you, escalate to the national enforcement body or, for UK flights, the airline's ADR scheme. Only then consider a claim company, because they will take roughly a third of it.
Work out your exact figure
Put the flight in and see what Icelandair owes you, with the article it comes from.