General information, not legal advice or a guaranteed payment. Based on Turkey’s SHY-YOLCU regulation (Resmî Gazete 28131, 3 December 2011) as amended on 25 March 2020 and 10 December 2024, using SHGM’s consolidated Turkish text. Official sources checked 16 October 2026.
Turkey’s SHY-Passenger rules pay €100 domestic and €250–600 international for 3-hour delays, late cancellations and bumping. Check coverage, limits and claims.
Key takeaways
- Every flight departing a Turkish airport is covered, on any airline, and so is every flight into Turkey on a Turkish airline such as Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet…
- Article 8 fixes €100 per passenger for any domestic flight.
- Compensation is due when a flight delayed for technical or operational reasons gets you to your final destination three hours or more late, or when it is cancelled…
- If you are refused boarding against your will, the airline must pay €100–600, offer a refund or rerouting, and provide care.
- Article 4 lists political instability, unsuitable weather, natural disasters, security risks, unexpected flight-safety shortcomings and strikes, and the word “in…
Which flights do Turkey’s passenger rights rules cover?
Link to this answerEvery flight departing a Turkish airport is covered, on any airline, and so is every flight into Turkey on a Turkish airline such as Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet or SunExpress. Domestic flights count. Free tickets, non-public fares and miles tickets are covered too, provided you checked in on time.
The rules are the Havayolu ile Seyahat Eden Yolcuların Haklarına Dair Yönetmelik (SHY-YOLCU), which Turkey’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM) calls the Regulation on Rights of Passengers Travelling by Air (SHY-Passenger). It was published in the Resmî Gazete on 3 December 2011, issue 28131, and took effect on 1 January 2012 under Article 21. Article 3 says it was prepared in parallel with EU Regulation 261/2004.
The amendment that matters was published on 10 December 2024 (Resmî Gazete 32748) and applied from publication. It added fixed compensation for long delays in Article 7(3) and changed how euro amounts convert to lira. Before it, a delay alone did not earn the fixed sum, so a delay before 10 December 2024 is assessed under the old text.
Article 2 sets the scope: Turkish airlines’ flights to and from Turkish airports, and foreign airlines’ flights from Turkish airports. You need a confirmed reservation and must check in at the time the airline set, or at least 45 minutes before the published departure if it set none; check-in is not required if the flight is cancelled. Unlike EU261, free and non-public fares are included (Article 2(1)(c)).
How much is Turkey flight delay compensation?
Link to this answerArticle 8 fixes €100 per passenger for any domestic flight. International flights earn €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 from 1,500 to 3,500 km and €600 beyond 3,500 km. Since December 2024, the lira payment uses the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s euro selling rate on the day the compensation is paid.
The amounts are set in euros in the regulation itself, so the euro figure is your entitlement. The conversions below use the ECB reference rates for 15 October 2026 and are approximate; the lira you receive depends on the Central Bank’s selling rate on the payment day. Distance is measured by the great-circle method (Article 8(5)) to your planned final destination (Article 8(2)).
Under Article 8(3), the airline may halve the payment if it offers a reroute reaching your final destination no more than two, three or four hours after the planned arrival, depending on distance. Article 8(4) requires payment in cash, bank transfer or cheque; vouchers are allowed only with your signed agreement, so do not sign a voucher form unless you want one.
Domestic flights earn €100 regardless of distance, so Istanbul–Van pays the same as Istanbul–Ankara. The international bands match EU261’s, but the triggers differ in important ways, explained below.
| Flight | Official amount | About in lira | About in pounds | About in dollars | Example route |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic, any distance | €100 | TRY 5,539 | £85 | $112 | Istanbul–Antalya |
| International, up to 1,500 km | €250 | TRY 13,847 | £212 | $280 | Istanbul–Athens (about 550 km) |
| International, 1,500 to 3,500 km | €400 | TRY 22,155 | £338 | $448 | Istanbul–London (about 2,490 km) |
| International, over 3,500 km | €600 | TRY 33,232 | £508 | $672 | Istanbul–New York (about 8,030 km) |
When is a delayed or cancelled flight from Turkey owed compensation?
Link to this answerCompensation is due when a flight delayed for technical or operational reasons gets you to your final destination three hours or more late, or when it is cancelled with less than 14 days’ notice and no qualifying reroute. Involuntary denied boarding also qualifies. Extraordinary circumstances remove compensation for cancellations, but care continues.
Article 7(3), added in December 2024, applies where flights are delayed “teknik ve operasyonel nedenlerle” (for technical and operational reasons) and the passenger reaches the planned final destination three hours or more late. The airline must then “immediately” meet its Article 8 (compensation) and Article 9 (refund or rerouting) obligations. The regulation does not define technical and operational reasons.
For cancellations, Article 6(2) removes compensation if you were told at least two weeks before departure; if told between two weeks and seven days before and offered a reroute leaving no more than two hours early and arriving no more than four hours late; or if told less than seven days before and offered a reroute leaving no more than one hour early and arriving no more than two hours late. Under Article 6(5) the airline must prove when it told you.
Care runs on its own clock under Article 7(1): from two hours for flights up to 1,500 km and all domestic flights, three hours for 1,500 to 3,500 km and four hours beyond, counted from the scheduled departure. Article 10 provides drinks, then meals, a hotel and transfers if departure moves to the next day, and two free calls or emails. At five hours you may abandon the trip for a refund within seven days (Article 9(1)(a)).
| What happened | What the regulation provides |
|---|---|
| Arrival under 3 hours late | Care from 2, 3 or 4 hours by distance; no fixed sum |
| Arrival 3 hours or more late, technical or operational cause | €100–600 plus a refund or rerouting choice (Articles 7(3), 8 and 9) |
| Departure delayed 5 hours or more | Full refund within 7 days and a return flight if needed (Article 7(1)) |
| Cancelled with at least 2 weeks’ notice | Refund or rerouting; no compensation (Article 6(2)) |
| Cancelled with less notice and no qualifying reroute | €100–600, refund or rerouting, and care (Article 6) |
| Involuntary denied boarding | €100–600, refund or rerouting, and care (Article 5(3)) |
What does Turkey’s regulation give for overbooking and downgrades?
Link to this answerIf you are refused boarding against your will, the airline must pay €100–600, offer a refund or rerouting, and provide care. It must first ask for volunteers, who get the agreed benefits and a refund or rerouting, but not the fixed sum. A downgrade earns the fare difference plus 30%, 50% or 75% of the ticket price, by distance.
Article 5 requires the airline to call for volunteers before refusing anyone, and Article 5(3) obliges it to meet its Article 8, 9 and 10 obligations “derhal” (immediately) for anyone refused against their will. Denied boarding has no extraordinary-circumstances defence, but Article 4(1)(n) excludes refusals with reasonable grounds such as health, safety, security or inadequate travel documents. Distance runs to your planned final destination.
Article 11 bans charging for an upgrade. For a downgrade, it requires a refund of the fare difference plus 30% of the ticket price on flights up to 1,500 km, 50% from 1,500 to 3,500 km and 75% beyond, paid within seven days. The fare difference uses prices on the purchase date (Article 11(3)).
Article 5 gives volunteers the agreed benefits plus a refund or rerouting rather than the fixed sum, and Article 13(2) bars them from claiming further compensation under other laws. Agree the terms in writing before you step aside.
What counts as extraordinary circumstances under Turkey’s rules?
Link to this answerArticle 4 lists political instability, unsuitable weather, natural disasters, security risks, unexpected flight-safety shortcomings and strikes, and the word “in particular” makes the list open. For cancellations, the airline must prove these caused the disruption despite all measures. For delays, the text covers only technical and operational causes, which raises its own arguments.
The definition of “olağanüstü haller” in Article 4(1)(ğ) covers situations affecting the operating airline, “özellikle” (in particular) political instability, weather unsuitable for the flight, natural disasters, security risks, unexpected flight-safety shortcomings and strikes. Article 6(4) releases the airline from cancellation compensation only if it proves these caused the cancellation “despite taking all measures”.
Delay compensation under Article 7(3) is framed differently: it applies where the delay is for technical and operational reasons, and it does not refer to Article 6(4). Expect airlines to argue that weather or air-traffic restrictions are not “operational”, and that a sudden safety defect is extraordinary. SHGM has published no guidance settling either point, so ask the airline to state the cause in writing.
Under EU and UK law, ordinary technical problems generally do not excuse an airline; see our extraordinary circumstances guide for how that compares.
Does EU261 or UK261 cover Turkish Airlines or Pegasus flights to Europe?
Link to this answerMainly on flights leaving Europe. UK261 covers London–Istanbul on any airline and EU261 covers every EU departure, but Istanbul–London on Turkish Airlines or Pegasus is outside both, because neither is a UK or EU airline. Turkey’s rules cover that return flight, with the same €250–600 bands but different triggers.
UK261 applies to all departures from a UK airport and to UK arrivals only on UK or EU airlines, as Article 3 of the UK regulation and the CAA’s coverage table show. EU passenger rights cover all EU departures but only EU airlines flying in. Turkey is not in the EU, so flights within Turkey, and Turkish airlines flying into Europe, are outside EU261.
London–Istanbul on Turkish Airlines is covered twice: by UK261 as a UK departure and by SHY-Passenger as a Turkish airline flying into Turkey. The Turkish text has no exclusion for passengers already helped abroad, but Article 13 lets compensation paid under it be deducted from compensation under other laws. Expect one payment. Compare the European regimes in our UK261 vs EU261 guide and EU261 rules guide.
A UK or EU airline flying from Turkey to Europe falls under SHY-Passenger as a Turkish departure and may also fall under UK261 or EU261, unless you received benefits or compensation and assistance in Turkey. That matters for holiday routes such as Antalya–Manchester or Dalaman–Gatwick on UK airlines.
| Example flight | Turkey’s SHY-Passenger | UK261 or EU261 |
|---|---|---|
| London–Istanbul on Turkish Airlines | Applies: Turkish airline flying into Turkey | UK261 applies: UK departure; one payment |
| Istanbul–London on Turkish Airlines or Pegasus | Applies: departure from Turkey | Not covered: not a UK or EU airline |
| Antalya–Manchester on a UK airline | Applies: departure from Turkey | UK261 can also apply, unless you received benefits in Turkey |
| Berlin–Antalya on SunExpress | Applies: Turkish airline flying into Turkey | EU261 applies: EU departure |
| Istanbul–Frankfurt on an EU airline | Applies: departure from Turkey | EU261 can also apply, unless you received benefits in Turkey |
How do I claim Turkey flight compensation with AirHelp?
Link to this answerAirHelp says it reviews flights under SHY-Passenger and handles the claim for you. It checks eligibility, deals with the airline, escalates when needed and charges only if it wins: 35% of the compensation including VAT, plus 15% if legal action is needed. You can also contact the airline yourself.
AirHelp’s Turkey passenger-rights page, updated 18 July 2026, says it checks how the SHY-Passenger regulation applies to your case, and its international edition says it will handle the claim on your behalf. Its fee page, updated 11 August 2026, sets the service fee at 35% including VAT and adds a 15% legal action fee where court action is needed. Illustration, not a quote: from €400 on Istanbul–London, a 35% fee leaves €260.
Two details on AirHelp’s Turkey pages differ from the official text. They convert euros at the Central Bank rate on the ticket purchase date, which the December 2024 amendment replaced with the payment date, and they state a one-year filing limit that does not appear in the regulation. Neither changes the euro amount you are owed.
Advertising disclosure: an AirHelp link marked Ad may earn TravelShifu a commission. That does not change the assessment above. Have your booking reference, the “operated by” airline, scheduled and actual times and the airline’s stated cause ready, and tell AirHelp if you have already complained.
AirHelp checks your flight against SHY-Passenger, handles the airline and charges only if it succeeds; its fee is shown before you sign.
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What are the time limits in Turkey, and what does SHGM do?
Link to this answerThe regulation sets no deadline for claiming, but act quickly: AirHelp asks for claims within a year, and Turkish courts apply their own limitation rules. Complaints go to the airline first, then to SHGM, the civil aviation regulator, through its online passenger-rights form. SHGM supervises airlines and can sanction them.
SHY-Passenger contains no limitation period and no deadline for the airline to answer. Article 19 preserves your right to go to court, and Article 16(2) lets you claim the balance if you accepted less because the airline did not tell you your rights. The only fixed clocks in the text are seven days for refunds (Article 9(1)(a)) and downgrade payments (Article 11(2)).
SHGM’s passenger rights page says applications go first to the airline concerned. Unresolved complaints can then go through SHGM’s online complaint form, which accepts foreign passengers who register with a passport and email address. Under Article 20, SHGM supervises airlines and sanctions breaches under Article 143 of Civil Aviation Law No. 2920.
Under Article 15, airlines must display a notice of passenger rights at check-in and give a written notice of the compensation rules to every passenger denied boarding or cancelled. Keep it with your boarding pass and the airline’s explanation of the cause. For a flight UK261 or EU261 also covers, see our flight compensation hub.
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