Your rights per country

No-show clause in France: can the airline cancel your return flight?

Clause upheldhigh confidence

France is the outlier: in 2017 the Cour de cassation upheld Air France's no-show clause. Miss the outbound and the airline may cancel your return.

A no-show clause sits in the conditions of carriage of nearly every airline. If you do not use a segment of your ticket, usually the outbound, the airline may cancel or reprice the rest. Whether that clause holds up is decided by the courts of the country where you bought the ticket.

What this means for you

What the court or regulator decided

In UFC-Que Choisir v Air France (26 April 2017) the highest court saw the clause as a balanced counterpart within the IATA fare system and therefore not unfair. Consumer groups still dispute it, but the ruling stands. For tickets bought in France the risk sits entirely with you.

Source: www.senat.fr

The European picture (June 2026)

As of June 2026 there is no EU-wide ban on the no-show clause. The European Parliament wants the revision of Regulation 261/2004 to state that a return flight may not be cancelled merely because the outbound was missed, but that revision has not been adopted and would apply from 2027 at the earliest. Until then, the country of purchase decides.

Other countries

• Spain
  Clause struck downhigh confidence
• Germany
  Clause struck downhigh confidence
• Italy
  Return protectedmedium confidence
• Austria
  Clause struck downmedium confidence
• the Netherlands
  Mixedmedium confidence
• Belgium
  Mixedlow confidence
• Portugal
  Mixedlow confidence

Sources reviewed in June 2026. Not legal advice: always check your airline's conditions of carriage and seek advice if in doubt.