SHY passenger rights, Turkey
Türkiye's passenger rights regulation mirrors the European bands: €250, €400 or €600 by distance on an international flight, and a flat €100 on a domestic one. Delay pays from three hours, and a cancellation pays when you were told less than fourteen days before the flight.
Check your own flight against the SHY-Passenger Regulation →Who it covers
- Flights departing Türkiye, and flights to Türkiye on a Turkish carrier.
- A flight from Istanbul to an EU airport is covered by this regulation and by EU261 where an EU carrier operates it. Claim under whichever pays more, once.
- Domestic Turkish flights are covered too, at a flat rate rather than by distance.
What it pays
| Distance or situation | Per passenger |
|---|---|
| Domestic flight | €100 |
| International, up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500–3,500 km | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 |
What triggers it
Delay of three hours or more
The three-hour threshold follows European practice. Note that the regulation is explicit about cancellation and denied boarding; for long delays the payment follows the European line by analogy and is less settled in Turkish practice, so expect more resistance there.
Cancellation notified inside fourteen days
The same fourteen-day rule as Europe: more notice than that and the compensation falls away, whatever the cause.
Denied boarding
The clearest case under the regulation. Overbooking is the airline's own commercial decision, so the extraordinary-circumstances defence does not reach it.
Duty of care — separate from compensation
Meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, two calls or messages, and accommodation with transport where an overnight stay becomes necessary — and the choice between re-routing and a refund. Owed whatever the cause of the disruption.
When the airline may pay half
Halved where the airline re-routes you and you reach your destination within two, three or four hours of the original arrival, by band — the European structure.
The refusals airlines send, and what answers them
“Extraordinary circumstances”
The same concept as the European one, and the same two limbs: the event must be outside the airline's normal activity and outside its control, and it must still show it took all reasonable measures.
“This is a domestic flight, nothing is owed”
Not so. Domestic flights carry the flat €100 and the full care entitlement.
“Turkish rules do not pay for delay”
The regulation is admittedly clearer on cancellation and denied boarding. That is an argument about strength, not about entitlement — and if your route also touches the EU, EU261 settles it outright.
Enforcement
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM) supervises the regulation and takes passenger complaints directly. Consumer arbitration committees handle smaller monetary claims without a lawyer.
How long you have
Two years in practice for a consumer claim arising out of carriage. File the written demand early — the regulator looks at how quickly you raised it.
Questions
How much does the SHY-Passenger Regulation pay?
€100 for domestic flight; €250 for international, up to 1,500 km; €400 for 1,500–3,500 km; €600 for over 3,500 km.
How long do I have to claim?
Two years in practice for a consumer claim arising out of carriage. File the written demand early — the regulator looks at how quickly you raised it.
Who enforces it?
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM) supervises the regulation and takes passenger complaints directly. Consumer arbitration committees handle smaller monetary claims without a lawyer.
Primary sources
Read the law itself rather than anyone's summary of it, this one included. Every link below was checked on 12 September 2026.
- Passenger rights — Directorate General of Civil Aviation
- SHY-PASSENGER regulation — DGCA legislation index
By situation, rather than by statute
If you would rather start from what happened than from which law applies: my flight was cancelled · they are blaming a strike · they are blaming a technical fault · I was denied boarding · I am stuck at the airport · I missed my connection · they moved me to a lower class · my bag did not arrive · they say it was extraordinary · should I use a claim company?
The other statutes
- EU261 compensation — EU261
- UK261 compensation — UK261
- Israeli Aviation Services Law — the Aviation Services Law
- US DOT flight delay rules — US DOT rules
- Canada APPR compensation — the APPR
- Montreal Convention 1999 — the Montreal Convention
- Russia Air Code Article 120 — Article 120 of the Air Code
- India DGCA rules — the DGCA CAR
- ANAC Resolution 400, Brazil — ANAC Resolution 400
- Thailand CAAT rules — the CAAT passenger rules
- Indonesia PM 89/2015 — Ministerial Regulation PM 89
- Saudi GACA passenger rights — the GACA customer protection rules