Filing a flight compensation claim yourself in Poland is far more approachable than the typical airline response email suggests. You can run the whole case from your own kitchen table — a written demand to the carrier, a free complaint to the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC), a simplified small claim at the Sąd Rejonowy if the airline keeps saying no, and an appeal if the first judgment goes against you. The court fee starts at 30 PLN. The prescription period is ten years. You keep 100% of the EUR 250, EUR 400 or EUR 600 the regulation awards — roughly PLN 1,100, PLN 1,750 or PLN 2,700 at current National Bank of Poland reference rates. This guide walks you through every step a self-represented Polish passenger needs to take, with the institutional names, deadlines and document templates spelled out.
If you would rather skip the work and pay a percentage to a no-win-no-fee service, our parallel guide on whether to claim yourself or use a service lays the honest economics side by side. This page is for the passenger who has decided to do it alone — or who at least wants to try the free routes before deciding.
Step 1 — Confirm you actually have a claim
Before you draft a single line, check that EU Regulation 261/2004 covers your flight at all. The rules are straightforward.
- Departure from any EU airport on any airline triggers protection. A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw, a Ryanair from Modlin or a Wizz Air from Katowice all qualify.
- Arrival at an EU airport on an EU carrier also triggers it. A LOT flight from New York to Warsaw is covered; an American Airlines flight on the same route is not.
- The disruption must be one of three: a cancellation, a delay of three hours or more at the final destination, or a denied boarding (typically overbooking).
The three-hour rule was set by the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) — the foundational ruling that put long delays on the same footing as cancellations for the purposes of the fixed cash sum. Without that case the regulation would only apply to cancellations on paper, and most Polish forum advice would be wrong.
Once you are sure the flight qualifies, check distance:
| Distance | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 500 km | EUR 250 (~PLN 1 100) |
| EU intra-flight over 1 500 km or any flight 1 500-3 500 km | EUR 400 (~PLN 1 750) |
| Over 3 500 km, non-EU destination | EUR 600 (~PLN 2 700) |
For more detail on which flights qualify, see our companion piece on eligible flights for EU 261 compensation .
Step 2 — Gather your evidence pack
Polish judges are practical people. They want to see the boarding pass, the booking confirmation, any email from the airline about the disruption, and — crucially — proof of the actual arrival time. The fixed compensation hinges on arrival time at the final destination, not departure delay. Sources that work in front of a Sąd Rejonowy:
- The boarding pass (paper or PDF — both fine).
- The original booking confirmation, with the scheduled departure and arrival times.
- Any SMS, email or app notification about the delay or cancellation.
- A screenshot of the actual arrival time from a public source — Flightradar24, FlightAware or the airport's own arrivals board archive. Polish judges accept these routinely.
- Receipts for meals, drinks and accommodation the airline failed to cover during the wait (you can claim these back under the duty-of-care obligation discussed in our guide to meals, drinks and hotels under EU 261 ).
- The airline's rejection email or any "weather", "technical" or "operational" excuse — this becomes the centrepiece you attack.
Save everything to a single PDF. Polish courts now accept electronic filings, and a tidy bundle scores points with the judge.
Step 3 — Send a written demand to the airline (28-day window)
The first formal move is a written demand to the carrier. Both Polish civil procedure and the airline's own complaint terms expect a 28-day reply window. Send the demand by two channels at once: the airline's official complaints form (LOT, Ryanair, Wizz Air, KLM, Lufthansa each have one) and a backup email to the customer-service address. Keep timestamps.
A workable English demand letter looks like this:
Subject: EU 261/2004 Compensation Claim — flight [number], date [DD.MM.YYYY], PNR [code]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I was a confirmed passenger on flight [number] from [origin] to [destination] scheduled for [date and time], which arrived at the final destination [delayed by X hours / was cancelled / was denied boarding].
Under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 I am entitled to fixed compensation of EUR [250/400/600]. I request payment to bank account [IBAN] within 28 days of receipt of this letter.
If your position is that an extraordinary circumstance applies, please provide the full documentary evidence the Court of Justice of the European Union required in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07) — the cause and the reasonable measures taken to avoid it. A general statement is not sufficient.
Sincerely, [name, address, email]
Why mention Wallentin-Hermann by name? Because that 2008 ruling placed the burden of proof squarely on the carrier. The airline has to prove both that an extraordinary circumstance existed and that it could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. A two-line "weather" or "technical" reply does not discharge that burden — and the airline knows it.
The full text of the regulation is available in English on EUR-Lex as Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 . Print Article 5, Article 6, Article 7 and Article 14. Those four pages are the only legal material you need at this stage.
Step 4 — File a free complaint with the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at ULC
If the airline refuses or stays silent past 28 days, the next step costs nothing. The Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów is the dedicated passenger ombudsman housed within the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC) — Poland's civil aviation authority. The RPP runs an extrajudicial mediation procedure (postępowanie polubowne) specifically for EU 261 cases.
How to file:
- Go to the official portal:
pasazerlotniczy.ulc.gov.pl. - Choose "Wniosek o pozasądowe rozwiązanie sporu" (extrajudicial dispute resolution).
- Upload the same PDF evidence pack you prepared in Step 2.
- Attach your demand letter and the airline's reply (or proof that no reply came).
- Submit.
The RPP forwards your file to the airline with a formal request. The mediation is voluntary on the carrier's side — the RPP cannot force payment — but compliance rates in Poland are above 60% for clear-cut cases. Average resolution time runs 60-90 days. The whole procedure is free; you pay nothing, even if you lose.
For flights where the airline's defence is genuinely strong — wildcat strike, true safety diversion, force majeure — the RPP will tell you frankly. That answer is worth having before you spend even 30 PLN on a court fee. For a breakdown of where the line falls between true extraordinary circumstances and dressed-up commercial failures, see our piece on extraordinary circumstances under EU 261 .
Step 5 — File a small claim at the Sąd Rejonowy
If the airline refuses through RPP too, you go to court. In Poland this means a pozew in the simplified procedure (postępowanie uproszczone) at the Sąd Rejonowy. Two key choices.
Which court? Under the CJEU's Rehder (C-204/08, 2009) judgment you may sue at the court with jurisdiction over either the airport of departure or the airport of arrival. For a Kraków-Paris flight you can pick Sąd Rejonowy dla Krakowa-Krowodrzy or sue in France — almost everybody picks the Polish court. For a Warsaw-Chopin departure, that means Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st. Warszawy.
Court fee scale (2026):
| Claim value | Court fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 4 000 PLN | 30 PLN |
| 4 000 - 7 500 PLN | 100 PLN |
| 7 500 - 20 000 PLN | 200 PLN |
| Over 20 000 PLN | 5% of value |
For a single EUR 600 claim (~PLN 2,700) the fee is 30 PLN. When you win, the airline reimburses the fee plus statutory interest. The whole exercise becomes cost-neutral.
What goes in the pozew:
- Court name and address.
- Plaintiff (you) and defendant (the airline, with its registered seat).
- Claim value in PLN — convert the EUR amount at the NBP average rate on the date of the disrupted flight.
- Factual statement: flight number, route, scheduled vs actual times.
- Legal basis: Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 plus the Sturgeon, Wallentin-Hermann and Rehder citations from this guide.
- Evidence list: boarding pass, booking confirmation, airline correspondence, Flightradar24 screenshot, RPP file reference.
- Request: order the airline to pay [PLN amount] plus statutory interest from the 28th day after the demand letter, plus court costs.
You can file in person, by post, or electronically via the e-Sąd system at e-sad.gov.pl. Many Polish passengers use the elektroniczne postępowanie upominawcze (EPU) for an even faster track — the court issues a payment order on paper review, which the airline can either pay or contest within 14 days.
Most airlines, including LOT, Ryanair, Wizz Air and Lufthansa, are represented by Polish-language counsel in EPU cases and they triage strictly by economics: clear claims under EUR 400 are settled before the first hearing, contested claims over EUR 1 000 (multi-passenger bookings) go all the way. Plan accordingly.
Step 6 — Defend your position at the first hearing
If the case reaches a hearing, the format is short and informal. The judge reads the file, asks the airline lawyer to summarise the extraordinary-circumstance defence, then asks you to reply. Three points carry weight.
- Burden of proof. Repeat the Wallentin-Hermann formula — the airline must prove cause and reasonable measures. If the carrier's filing only contains a general statement, name the gap out loud.
- Connecting flights as a unit. If your case involves a missed connection, cite Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013) and Wegener (C-537/17, 2018) — delay at the final destination of a connecting itinerary triggers compensation regardless of which leg caused the slip, and the journey is treated as a single transport unit.
- Wet lease and operating carrier. If the airline argues "the flight was operated by another carrier", the Court ruled in Wirth (C-532/17, 2018) that the operating carrier is responsible — but that is exactly the entity you sued, since you sued the brand on the ticket. Read the ticket: the operating carrier is normally named there.
You do not need a lawyer for any of this. Polish judges in aviation matters are accustomed to self-represented passengers and the simplified procedure is designed for it. Bring two paper copies of every document.
Step 7 — Collect the money
When you win, the airline normally pays within 14-30 days of the judgment becoming final. If it drags its feet, the next step is bailiff enforcement (egzekucja komornicza) — but in practice major carriers settle on receipt of the judgment to avoid the cost. Statutory interest accrues from the 28th day after your demand letter until full payment.
If, despite the free routes and the simplified procedure, you would rather hand the file to a specialist on a no-win-no-fee basis, you can compare offers from the major Polish-market services. AirHelp keeps 25-35% of the award depending on the file; you keep the rest with no upfront cost and no court risk on you.
Check your free DIY-vs-AirHelp eligibility in two minutes →
Common mistakes that sink DIY claims in Poland
- Acting too late. The Polish ten-year prescription is generous, but a poorly drafted demand letter can give the airline grounds to argue przedawnienie roszczenia. Send it formally, by recorded delivery or via the airline's portal with a confirmation receipt.
- Wrong currency or wrong conversion date. Convert EUR to PLN at the NBP average rate on the date of the flight, not the date you filed. Polish courts are strict on this.
- Suing the wrong entity. Sue the operating carrier (the one that actually flew the plane). For codeshares this can differ from the ticket brand.
- Ignoring the duty of care. Even when the compensation claim is genuinely weak (true extraordinary circumstances), the airline still owes meals, drinks and accommodation. The Court confirmed this in McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) during the Icelandic volcano cases — no time cap, no value cap.
- Settling for a voucher. Airlines routinely offer a voucher worth 50-70% of the legal entitlement. Refuse politely in writing. A voucher is not legal tender and accepting it can later be used against you.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file an EU 261 claim in Poland without a lawyer?
Yes. Both the RPP complaint and the small claim at Sąd Rejonowy can be filed personally. Polish civil procedure does not require legal representation in the simplified procedure. Most passengers handle the case themselves up to and including the first hearing.
How long do I have to file a flight compensation claim in Poland?
Ten years from the date of the disrupted flight. The Court of Justice confirmed in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) that national limitation rules apply, and the Polish Supreme Court has aligned EU 261 claims with the general ten-year civil limit under Article 118 of the Polish Civil Code.
How much does it cost to sue an airline in a Polish small-claims court?
For a single EUR 600 claim the court fee is 30 PLN. The scale runs from 30 PLN up to 4 000 PLN claim value, 100 PLN to 7 500 PLN, 200 PLN to 20 000 PLN. The airline reimburses the fee when you win.
Which court in Poland can hear my EU 261 claim?
Under Rehder (C-204/08, 2009) you may sue at the Sąd Rejonowy responsible for the airport of departure or the airport of arrival. For a flight from Warsaw-Chopin, that is Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st. Warszawy; for Kraków-Balice, Sąd Rejonowy dla Krakowa-Krowodrzy.
Do I have to write to the airline first before going to RPP or court?
Formally yes. The Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów requires proof that you gave the carrier 28 days to respond. The Sąd Rejonowy will also expect proof of pre-court contact. A single written demand by email and airline portal is enough.
What if the airline simply ignores the RPP and the court summons?
The RPP cannot force payment — that procedure is voluntary on the carrier side. The court can. If the airline fails to respond to a nakaz zapłaty within 14 days, the order becomes enforceable and you can move directly to bailiff enforcement. Major carriers operating in Poland have local service agents and settle on receipt of the judgment.
The honest summary
DIY EU 261 in Poland works. The legal regime is generous to passengers, the institutions are functional, the court fees are low, the prescription period is ten years, and you do not need a lawyer. The trade-off is time — 90 to 180 days on average from first demand to bank deposit — and a few hours of admin. For a clean three-hour delay or cancellation on a clearly EU-covered flight, that is a fair exchange for keeping the full EUR 250, 400 or 600. For genuinely contested cases — strikes, complex technical defences, non-EU operators, multi-passenger bookings worth four figures in PLN — a paid service buys you procedural certainty. Decide based on your appetite for paperwork, not on the airline's first email.