If a flight is delayed or cancelled in Russia, the passenger may request airport care, a forced refund, a statutory penalty, and proven losses.
The available remedies depend on the cause, route, applicable law, and whether the passenger completed the journey.
✈️ Record the disruption. Save the flight status, messages, and a certificate or ticket endorsement from the carrier.
Free care during the delay
Care under paragraph 99 of the Federal Aviation Rules is free and applies regardless of whether the cause is weather, technical, or otherwise.
From the beginning
The carrier must organise baggage storage and provide a mother-and-child room to a passenger travelling with a child under seven.
After more than two hours
Passengers are entitled to drinking water and two telephone calls or two electronic messages.
After more than four hours
The carrier must provide a hot meal, then another meal every six hours by day and every eight hours by night.
Hotel threshold
A hotel is due after more than eight hours by day or more than six hours by night, with free transport to the hotel and back.
If care is not provided, keep receipts for reasonable food, hotel, and transfer costs. Reimbursement still depends on proof and necessity.
Refund after cancellation or delay
A cancellation or departure delay may constitute an involuntary refusal of carriage.
Under Article 108 of the Russian Air Code, the paid fare is refundable in that situation, including a non-refundable fare.
Before refusing carriage, ask the airline for a certificate or ticket endorsement confirming the cancellation or delay.
State in writing that the refusal is involuntary. Keep proof that the request reached the carrier or its authorised agent.
If the passenger accepts a replacement flight and completes the journey, a full refund of the original carriage may not fit the facts.
Penalty and proven losses
Statutory delay penalty
Article 120 sets a penalty of RUB 100 for each hour of delay, capped at 50% of the fare.
The former formula based on the minimum wage is no longer the current rule.
The carrier may avoid the penalty by proving force majeure, a safety-critical repair, or another circumstance beyond its control.
Losses in addition to the penalty
Article 120 also permits recovery of proven losses caused by the delay in addition to the statutory penalty.
Evidence may include replacement transport tickets, hotel receipts, and other necessary expenses linked to the disruption.
Not every purchase made during the wait is recoverable. Necessity, reasonableness, and the carrier’s offered assistance matter.
A practical four-step scheme
1. Record → flight board, messages, carrier certificate, and actual departure or arrival time.
2. Request → care, rerouting, or an involuntary refund, depending on the passenger’s decision.
3. Preserve → ticket, boarding pass, receipts, correspondence, and payment evidence.
4. Claim → send a clear calculation and supporting documents to the proper carrier.
How to prepare the claim
Give the passenger’s name and contacts, ticket and flight numbers, route, scheduled and actual times, and the reason stated by the airline.
List each remedy separately and attach copies of the ticket, boarding pass, disruption certificate, receipts, and bank details.
For domestic carriage, Article 126 allows six months to submit a claim to the carrier.
Do not wait unnecessarily. Keep proof of submission and delivery.
Agent purchases and charter flights
The operating or contractual carrier identified in the carriage documents is normally responsible for the flight operation.
An agent may process the refund under its sales procedure, but the passenger should still identify the correct claim recipient.
Charter passengers receive delay care under the same general rules.
If the flight formed part of a package tour, the tour contract and Russian tourism law may also be relevant.
International flights
An international route may be governed by a treaty, the law of departure or arrival, and the carrier’s conditions.
A monetary amount cannot be determined only from the airline’s nationality. Check the route and applicable law before claiming a figure.
Official sources
Rospotrebnadzor: what to do during a flight delay.
Rospotrebnadzor: passenger rights after delay or cancellation.
Russian Air Code, Article 108.
Russian Air Code, Article 120.
Russian Air Code, Article 126.
Frequently asked questions
Does the airline have to provide meals when weather caused the delay?
Yes. Waiting-time care applies regardless of the cause. The monetary penalty has separate liability conditions and exceptions.
Can a non-refundable ticket be refunded?
Yes, where the passenger makes a properly documented involuntary refusal because of cancellation or delay.
Where should hotel and meal receipts be sent?
Send them to the proper carrier with an explanation of necessity and proof of payment.
Is RUB 100 always payable for every hour?
No. The 50% cap and statutory grounds excluding carrier liability must be considered.
Related materials
Consumer protection materials.
Updated 30 July 2026. This is general information; the route, carrier, and documents may change the legal analysis.
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