Evidence guide
What documents do you need for a flight compensation claim?
A complete evidence checklist for flight compensation claims: booking confirmations, boarding proof, airline messages, receipts, authorization, group claims, and missing-document fallbacks.
- Evidence-first review
- Clear eligibility caveats
- Authorization required before action
The short answer
Start with documents that prove the flight, the passenger, the disruption, and your authority to claim. A booking confirmation, boarding pass or check-in proof, airline messages, and signed authorization are usually the highest-value uploads.
- Upload the booking confirmation or e-ticket first.
- Add boarding proof, check-in proof, or another proof of presence.
- Keep airline emails, app messages, rejection letters, vouchers, and refund notices separate.
- Complete authorization before AirReclaim contacts an airline or authority.
Claim intake
Upload order: what matters most
The fastest claim files are not necessarily the largest. They are the files where the reviewer can quickly confirm the route, operating carrier, passenger, disruption type, and final arrival impact without asking follow-up questions.
Use the upload area like an evidence pack. Put the documents that prove the journey first, then add airline messages, receipts, and anything that explains the disruption. If a document is missing, upload the best substitute and explain the gap in the claim notes.
Recommended upload priority
| Priority | Document | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booking confirmation or e-ticket | Shows passenger name, route, date, flight number, and booking reference. |
| 2 | Boarding pass or check-in proof | Helps prove the passenger was booked, present, or attempted to travel. |
| 3 | Airline disruption messages | Shows cancellation, delay, rebooking, rejection, or the airline's stated reason. |
| 4 | Signed authorization | Allows AirReclaim to act with airlines, authorities, ADR bodies, or approved partners. |
| 5 | Receipts and refund records | Useful context for expenses, refunds, vouchers, or direct airline payments. |
Booking confirmation, e-ticket, or itinerary
Your booking confirmation connects the passenger to the route. It should show the passenger name, booking reference, travel date, airports, flight numbers, and airline or travel agency that sold the ticket.
If the itinerary was booked through an online travel agency, upload both the agency itinerary and any airline confirmation you received later. Codeshares, replacement flights, and travel-agency references can create confusion, so more context helps the reviewer identify the operating carrier.
- Upload the complete document, not only a cropped flight number.
- Include every affected segment if the trip had a connection.
- Use the passenger names exactly as they appear on the booking.
Boarding pass or proof you were ready to travel
A boarding pass is the easiest proof that the passenger checked in or presented for the flight. If you no longer have it, do not abandon the claim. Upload check-in emails, bag tags, airport receipts, loyalty-account trip records, or any other evidence that helps show you were booked and ready to travel.
Denied boarding and missed-connection claims often need especially clear proof of presence because the airline may dispute whether the passenger arrived at the gate on time or completed the earlier segment.
If you cannot find the boarding pass
Upload what you have and explain the missing document. AirReclaim can still review the case, but it may pause if the remaining proof does not show enough about the passenger or journey.
Airline messages, app alerts, and rejection letters
Airline messages are often more useful than a passenger's memory of the event. Keep emails, SMS notices, app notifications, airport desk documents, rebooking messages, cancellation notices, and rejection letters.
The exact wording matters. A message about weather, air traffic control, crew limits, technical issues, aircraft rotation, or operational reasons can point the reviewer toward the right responsibility analysis. Do not rewrite the airline's explanation into your own words if you can upload the original.
- Upload rejection letters exactly as received.
- Keep settlement offers, vouchers, refunds, and compensation messages in separate files.
- If the airline called you, write a short note with the date, time, and summary.
Receipts, expenses, refunds, and vouchers
Receipts can help explain what happened, but statutory compensation is separate from refunds, reimbursement, and expenses. A hotel receipt may support the disruption story, while a refund notice may affect what still needs to be reported to AirReclaim.
If the airline paid you directly, offered a voucher, refunded part of the ticket, or asked you to accept a settlement, keep the record. Direct payments must be reported because they can change the payout review and prevent duplicate recovery.
| Record | Upload? | How AirReclaim treats it |
|---|---|---|
| Meal or hotel receipt | Yes | Context for care or expenses; not the same as statutory compensation. |
| Refund notice | Yes | May show ticket handling and direct airline contact. |
| Voucher or goodwill credit | Yes | Reviewed separately from cash compensation. |
| Bank transfer from airline | Yes | Must be reported before payout review. |
Group bookings and family claims
Group claims need a clean passenger list. Upload the booking document that shows all affected passengers, then add evidence for each adult passenger where available. Children and dependants may need different evidence depending on the booking and authorization path.
If only some passengers want to claim, make that clear in the dashboard notes. It is better to clarify the scope early than to submit a file that appears to include passengers who have not authorized the claim.
Common document mistakes that slow claims down
Most evidence delays come from small gaps: cropped screenshots, missing flight dates, mismatched passenger names, unclear final destination, screenshots without the airline's stated reason, or files that combine refunds, expenses, and compensation into one unclear record.
Upload full-page documents where possible. If you use screenshots, include the sender, date, and subject line. If the airline rebooked you, upload the original and replacement itinerary.
- Do not upload only a bank receipt without the airline context.
- Do not crop out the booking reference or passenger name.
- Do not mix different passengers' documents without labels.
- Do not hide direct payments or voucher acceptance.
Common questions
Possibly. Upload check-in proof, bag tags, trip records, airport receipts, or airline messages and explain the missing boarding pass. AirReclaim will decide whether the remaining evidence is strong enough.
Official references
Ready to start with a clean evidence pack?
Run the preliminary check first, then upload documents only when the file looks worth reviewing.