TAROM refused my claim: what now?

We have no published record of which reasons TAROM gives most often, so we don't guess. These are the reasons airlines give, and when each one holds.

Weather: it excuses the airline only when conditions made your flight impossible to operate at that time. Airports publish routine weather reports (METAR) through the day, and archives keep them, so the weather during your flight's hours can be checked.

Air traffic control: a decision by air traffic management about your aircraft on that day can count as extraordinary, if the airline took all reasonable measures (recital 15 of the regulation). EUROCONTROL publishes the delays at each European airport by day and by cause.

Strikes: a strike by the airline's own staff, such as its pilots, is never extraordinary, even when it is lawful (Court of Justice, C-28/20, 23 March 2021). A strike outside the airline, such as by air traffic controllers or airport staff, can be.

Technical problems: a fault that arises in the normal running and maintenance of the aircraft is not extraordinary (Court of Justice, C-549/07, 22 December 2008). A bird strike can be (Court of Justice, C-315/15, 4 May 2017).

TAROM's compensation form, read on its site on 17 Oct 2026, is in Romanian. It asks for the booking code, the flight, the ticket's serial number and your contact details, takes up to 5 files, and lets someone else claim on your behalf.

TAROM takes compensation claims through its own page. Claim there yourself, or let us handle it.

• The claim page on the TAROM site

Ask the airline in writing what exactly happened, and when. A general answer such as "extraordinary circumstances" is not proof.

Answer the refusal with the records for your flight. Checking your flight with us is free, and before you sign a claim we read these records for it.

If the airline still refuses, or doesn't answer, complain to the national enforcement body of the country your flight left from (article 16 of the regulation). In Romania that is the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC).

Then court. Romania has a simpler procedure for small claims (cerere cu valoare redusă). Against an airline based in another EU country, the European Small Claims Procedure covers claims up to €5,000 (Regulation 861/2007).

How long you have to claim is set by each country's own law (Court of Justice, C-139/11, 22 November 2012).

You can claim for free without us: write to the airline first. If it refuses or doesn't answer, you can complain to the national enforcement body (in Romania, ANPC) or ask the European Consumer Centre in your country for help (in Romania, ECC Romania), also for free. It makes sense to come to us when the airline has refused or ignored your claim, or when you would rather not deal with it yourself.