National Enforcement Bodies: How to Escalate for Free
When the airline does not reply, or replies only in boilerplate, the road does not end there. Every member state designates a national enforcement body, and many countries add a separate dispute resolution body. For passengers this costs nothing.
The short answer
Under Art. 16 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 every member state designates a National Enforcement Body (NEB) to monitor compliance with air passenger rights. For passengers, bringing a case is free. One distinction matters: an enforcement body checks whether the airline is breaching the Regulation, but in many countries it will not award you money itself. Payment is often the job of an alternative dispute resolution body — the Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr in Germany, the transport regulator ART via its ConciliaWeb platform in Italy, ARN in Sweden. The competent body is normally the one in the country of departure; for a flight into the EU from a third country operated by an EU carrier, it is the country of arrival. Escalation makes sense once the airline has gone six to eight weeks without a reply, or has rejected your claim without proper reasons.
The route step by step
Almost everywhere, these bodies require that you tried the airline directly first. This order works:
Claim from the airline in writing
Include flight number, date, route, booking reference and bank details. Name the legal basis and a specific amount. Keep your boarding pass and booking confirmation — the bodies will ask for them later.
Wait six to eight weeks
Portugal and Austria expressly name six weeks after which the body will act; the German conciliation body assumes a comparable waiting time. Only then is the route to the body open.
Set a final deadline and say what follows
Fourteen days is customary. Announce that you will hand the case to the competent body afterwards. In practice that announcement alone often triggers a fresh — and this time genuine — review.
File with the competent body
Almost everywhere through an online form. Attach your correspondence with the airline and your booking evidence. For passengers the procedure is free of charge.
Keep an eye on your deadline
A procedure before one of these bodies is not a substitute for the limitation period. In Germany, filing with the conciliation body suspends it; other countries have their own rules. So check in parallel how much time you have left.
Enforcement body or dispute resolution body?
The two roles are easily confused, and the difference decides whether you actually see money. An enforcement body is a supervisory authority: it monitors whether airlines comply with the Regulation and can pursue breaches. A dispute resolution body, by contrast, takes up your individual case and works towards a concrete settlement. In some countries the two coincide — Austria's apf is both. In others the separation is strict: Italy's ENAC states expressly that a complaint to it is not intended to obtain a refund or compensation; for that, the dispute settlement service of the ART via ConciliaWeb is the designated route. Passengers who do not know this end up waiting in Italy for money that will never arrive by that path.
Competent bodies by country
Based on the European Commission's official list in its version of 13 July 2026; all links were checked on 27 July 2026. The languages shown are those the body itself states.
Germany
Enforcement body
Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) — National Enforcement Body Air Passenger Rights
Open websitefluggastrechte@lba.de
Dispute resolution body
Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr e.V. (vormals söp)
Open websiteThe Luftfahrt-Bundesamt is the supervisory authority. For your individual case and a concrete settlement, the Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr is the body to approach — known until 2026 as söp. The procedure is free for consumers and assumes you contacted the airline first.
Languages: German, English
Deadline in this countryAustria
Enforcement body
Agency for Passenger Rights (apf)
Open websiteThe apf is both enforcement body and conciliation body, and steps in once the airline has failed to reply, or replied unsatisfactorily, within six weeks. The procedure is free for passengers.
Languages: German, English
Deadline in this countrySwitzerland
Enforcement body
Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA)
Open websitepassengerrights@bazl.admin.ch
The FOCA accepts complaints through an online form. Switzerland has no state conciliation body for air passenger rights that awards money — the FOCA acts in a supervisory capacity, and the claim itself remains a civil matter.
Languages: German, French, Italian, English
Deadline in this countryBelgium
Enforcement body
FPS Mobility & Transport — Directorate-General Air Transport
Open websiteThe Directorate-General Air Transport of the federal mobility service is competent. Mind the short Belgian one-year deadline: do not wait to escalate until it has nearly run out.
Languages: Dutch, French, English
Deadline in this countrySpain
Enforcement body
State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) — Passenger Rights Division
Open websiteAESA has a dedicated passenger rights division and takes complaints through an online form. The email address published there is expressly for information requests only, not for claims.
Languages: Spanish, English
Deadline in this countryFrance
Enforcement body
Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) — Passenger Rights Unit
Open websiteDispute resolution body
Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage
Open websiteThe DGAC runs its own reporting portal for air passenger rights. For an amicable settlement in an individual case, the Médiateur du Tourisme et du Voyage is an additional option.
Languages: French
Deadline in this countryItaly
Enforcement body
Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC)
Open websiteDispute resolution body
Autorità di Regolazione dei Trasporti (ART) — ConciliaWeb
Open websiteImportant: a complaint to ENAC serves to enforce the Regulation but expressly not to obtain a refund or compensation. If you are claiming money, use the dispute settlement service of the Autorità di Regolazione dei Trasporti through the ConciliaWeb platform.
Languages: Italian, English
Deadline in this countryLuxembourg
Enforcement body
Directorate for Consumer Protection
Open websitepassagers@mpc.etat.lu
The Directorate for Consumer Protection is competent and also accepts complaints by email. Website and online form are available in three languages.
Languages: French, German, English
Deadline in this countryNetherlands
Enforcement body
Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT)
Open websiteThe enforcement body is the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, not the consumer authority ACM. Complaints go through an online form.
Languages: Dutch, English
Deadline in this countryPoland
Enforcement body
Passengers' Rights Ombudsman at the Civil Aviation Authority (ULC)
Open websitepasazerlotniczy@ulc.gov.pl
Passenger complaints go to the Passengers' Rights Ombudsman at the President of the Civil Aviation Authority. This route is particularly interesting because the administrative courts have not applied the short one-year civil deadline to the administrative procedure — though you should not count on that.
Languages: Polish, English
Deadline in this countryPortugal
Enforcement body
National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC)
Open websiteYou can complain to ANAC once the airline has failed to reply, or replied unsatisfactorily, for six weeks. The complaint is possible for up to three years after the flight date.
Languages: Portuguese, English
Deadline in this countrySweden
Enforcement body
Swedish Consumer Agency
Open websiteDispute resolution body
Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN)
Open websiteThe enforcement body is Konsumentverket with its Hallå konsument consumer portal. Decisions in individual cases are handled by Allmänna reklamationsnämnden. Remember the Swedish particularity that the complaint to the airline must be made promptly.
Languages: Swedish, English, Finnish, Croatian, Polish, Spanish
Deadline in this countryUnited Kingdom
Enforcement body
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
Open websiteSince Brexit, departures from the UK fall under UK261, with the Civil Aviation Authority as the competent body. Many airlines belong to a CAA-approved dispute resolution scheme; if yours does not, approach the CAA directly.
Languages: English
Deadline in this country
Your country is not listed? The European Commission maintains a complete list of all national enforcement bodies: Go to the European Commission list
What comes next
Two things deserve your attention in parallel: the reasoning behind the rejection, and your deadline. There is a dedicated page for each.
Common questions about escalating
What does it cost to involve an enforcement or dispute resolution body?
Which country is responsible?
Can the body force the airline to pay?
How long does such a procedure take?
Do I have to contact the airline first?
Check first, then escalate
Before you involve a body: check for free what Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 typically provides for your route — and produce a letter that contains the right legal grounds from the start.
Check your flight for freeLast updated:
The information on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. No liability is accepted for accuracy or completeness. For complex cases, we recommend consulting a lawyer.