Cancelled flight: refund, rerouting, and compensation
A cancelled flight creates two separate questions: what happens to your ticket, and whether you may also claim fixed compensation.
Refund and compensation are different rights
When a flight is cancelled, the airline will often need to offer reimbursement or rerouting. That solves the ticket problem. Compensation is a separate question and depends on timing, cause, and the alternative journey offered.
Many passengers stop after receiving a refund, even though the cancellation may still deserve a separate compensation review.
The 14-day window matters
If the airline informed passengers well in advance, the compensation case is usually weaker. Late cancellation notices, especially inside the final two weeks before departure, should be checked more carefully.
The alternative flight also matters. A rerouting option that keeps your schedule close to the original plan is different from one that causes a major disruption.
Rerouting does not automatically end the claim
Accepting a replacement flight does not always remove the right to compensation. The timing of the new departure and arrival can still leave room for a claim.
Keep both the original booking and the replacement itinerary, because the comparison is often central to the assessment.
When cancellation claims become harder
Claims are usually harder when the airline can prove extraordinary circumstances, such as severe weather, security restrictions, or airport closure.
Even then, passengers may still have rights to care, rerouting, or ticket reimbursement. Those rights should not be confused with fixed compensation.