Bumped From Your AJet Flight Home From Turkey? How to Claim Under Turkish Rules
UK261 doesn't cover AJet flights from Istanbul, Antalya or Dalaman to the UK, but Turkey's own passenger rights rules do. Here's how to claim if you were denied boarding on the way home.
Being bumped from an overbooked flight at the end of a holiday is bad enough. Being told afterwards that UK261 doesn't apply makes it worse, and it's where many AJet passengers give up. They shouldn't. A flight home from Turkey on a Turkish airline isn't covered by UK or EU rules, but it is covered by Turkey's own regulation, and denied boarding from an overbooked flight is one of the clearest claims under it.
Why UK261 doesn't apply on the way home
UK261 covers every flight departing a UK airport, and flights arriving in the UK only when the airline is UK or EU registered. AJet is a Turkish airline, so an AJet flight from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen, Ankara, Antalya, Dalaman or Bodrum to the UK falls outside it. The same goes for EU261.
Turkey's passenger rights rules: SHY-Yolcu
Turkey's Directorate General of Civil Aviation enforces its own air passenger rights regulation, known as SHY-Yolcu. It was modelled on EU261 and applies to flights departing Turkish airports, whichever airline operates them. For passengers refused boarding against their will because a flight was overbooked, it provides:
- Fixed compensation set by flight distance, in bands that broadly mirror the EU261 amounts
- A choice of refund or rerouting to your destination
- Care while you wait, including meals, refreshments and a hotel with transfers if you're stuck overnight
Most AJet routes from Turkey to the UK are between 1,500km and 3,500km, which falls into the middle compensation band.
Volunteers first, just like the UK
The airline must ask for volunteers before bumping anyone. If you take a voucher or a later flight in exchange for your seat, you have volunteered and the fixed compensation no longer applies. If you were simply told there was no seat for you, you were denied boarding involuntarily.
What to collect at the airport
- Your boarding pass or booking confirmation showing the flight and the operating carrier
- Written confirmation from AJet staff that you were refused boarding, and the reason given
- Receipts for any meals, hotel or transport you paid for yourself
- Details of the replacement flight and your actual arrival time in the UK
The reason given matters. If AJet records it as overbooking, that is a straightforward claim. If staff later suggest it was a document problem or that you arrived late at the gate, the written record from the day is what settles it.
Turkish Airlines flight number, AJet aircraft
Many AJet flights are sold under Turkish Airlines flight numbers. Your claim goes to the airline that actually operated the flight, so check the boarding pass before filing.
What about the flight out?
If you were bumped on the outbound AJet flight from Stansted, Gatwick, Luton or another UK airport, the claim is simpler: UK261 applies in full, and you're owed £350 on most AJet routes. A claim for one direction doesn't depend on the other.
Start your claim
Klaimly checks which regulation applies to your direction of travel, identifies the operating carrier and handles the AJet claim from start to finish. We charge a flat 5% fee, only if we win. No VAT, no minimum fee, and nothing to pay unless your claim succeeds.