Skip to content
Coverage

Flight disruption

Saudi Arabia — GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations

NationalSADerived or secondary source

Saudi Arabia

Rule id
air.sa-gaca
Version
1.0.0
In force from
November 20, 2023
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
Saudi Arabia

In plain language

What this regime says.

The Kingdom's Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, in force since November 2023, are among the most generous anywhere. Compensation is a percentage of ticket value rather than a distance tariff — 200% for denied boarding, up to 150% for a late-notified cancellation — with fixed SDR sums for delay and, unusually, fixed sums payable to you whenever the airline fails to provide the care it owes.

Who is covered

Every passenger on a flight departing any airport in the Kingdom, on any carrier, and passengers on arriving flights operated by Saudi national carriers.

What you get

Denied boarding: a refund of the unused portion plus 200% of its value, unless a replacement departs within two hours. Cancellation: 50% at 60 to 14 days' notice, 75% between 14 days and 24 hours, 150% under 24 hours. Delay: 50 SDR from three to six hours, 150 SDR beyond six. Downgrade: the fare difference plus 50%. Plus 10, 30 or 100 SDR whenever care was not provided.

Where claims go wrong

  • The compensation is a percentage of ticket value, not a distance band. On an expensive ticket it is worth far more than the European equivalent.
  • Denied-boarding compensation is waived only if the replacement DEPARTS within two hours of the original scheduled departure.
  • The Article 17 care penalties are payable in addition and almost nobody claims them.
  • A delay over two hours already gives a right to terminate and take a refund; beyond five hours the flight is treated as cancelled.
  • We could not load the regulation from GACA's own domain; the text came from two agreeing carrier-hosted copies of the official PDF. Verify before litigating.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 3 (scope)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 3 (scope)
  2. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 10(6) (delay compensation)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 10(6) (delay compensation)
  3. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 12(6) (cancellation compensation)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 12(6) (cancellation compensation)
  4. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 13(7) (denied boarding compensation)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 13(7) (denied boarding compensation)
  5. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 14(2) (downgrading)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 14(2) (downgrading)
  6. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 17 (failure to provide care)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 17 (failure to provide care)
  7. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 18 (passengers with disabilities or special needs)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 18 (passengers with disabilities or special needs)
  8. GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 22 (carrier complaints mechanism)Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in force 20 November 2023URL verified 2026-08-05Art. 22 (carrier complaints mechanism)

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

The clocks it starts

  • Two years for a Montreal Convention claim (Art. 35)This period governs a Convention claim for proven delay damages on international carriage. The regulation itself states no limitation period for the GACA compensation, so file promptly rather than assuming you have years.Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35(1) — Art. 35(1)Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

  • Refreshments from the first hour, a meal after three, a hotel after sixThe care obligations start earlier here than almost anywhere else: refreshments from the first hour of delay, a meal beyond three hours, and accommodation with transport beyond six. A delay of more than two hours also gives the right to terminate the contract and take a refund, and a delay beyond five hours is treated as a cancellation with the compensation that follows.Art. 17 (failure to provide care)
  • Montreal Convention damages for delay (international carriage)On international carriage between States Parties, Art. 19 of the Montreal Convention makes the carrier liable for the damage the delay actually caused you — the unused hotel night, the missed onward booking, the extra meals and transport — unless it proves it took all measures that could reasonably be required. It is capped at 6,303 SDR per passenger (the figure ICAO set with effect from 28 December 2024) and it requires receipts, not a formula. This claim exists independently of any national scheme, and airlines never mention it. The right is extinguished two years after arrival under Art. 35.Art. 19, Art. 22(1)

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

The airline answers with a European figure

high likelihood

A carrier familiar with EU261 quotes a EUR 250-600 tariff, or says no compensation is due at all because the delay was under three hours.

What answers it

The Saudi scheme is not a distance tariff. Denied boarding pays 200% of the unused ticket value plus a refund; a cancellation notified under 24 hours out pays 150%; a delay of three to six hours pays 50 SDR and beyond six hours 150 SDR. On an expensive ticket the percentage limbs are worth far more than any European band.

GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 13(7) (denied boarding compensation) — Art. 13(7) (denied boarding compensation)

Silence about the Article 17 care penalties

high likelihood

The carrier settles the disruption claim and says nothing about the fixed sums for failing to provide refreshments, a meal or a hotel.

What answers it

Article 17 makes those sums payable in their own right and in addition. Claim them explicitly, say what you were not given and when, and cite the article. They are small individually and they are the part of the regulation carriers most reliably overlook.

GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 17 (failure to provide care) — Art. 17 (failure to provide care)

We put you on another flight

high likelihood

For denied boarding the carrier says compensation is waived because it rebooked you.

What answers it

The waiver applies only where the alternative flight departs within two hours of the original scheduled departure. Check the scheduled departure of the replacement, not its arrival, and not when you were told about it.

GACA Passenger Rights Protection Regulations, Art. 13(7) (denied boarding compensation) — Art. 13(7) (denied boarding compensation)

Where to take it next

  1. Complaint through the carrier's GACA-approved mechanismArticle 22 requires every carrier to operate a complaints mechanism approved by GACA. Use it, in writing, citing the article and the percentage or SDR figure you are claiming, and keep the reference number.Claim directtypically 30 days
  2. General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)GACA supervises carrier compliance with the regulation and operates a consumer complaints channel. It is an active regulator in this area, and the approved-mechanism requirement in Article 22 means a carrier that mishandles your complaint is itself in breach.Regulatortypically 60 daysofficial page
  3. Saudi courtsBinding on themWhere GACA cannot resolve the matter, the claim lies in the Saudi courts. Take local advice on forum and procedure — we have not verified a limitation period for this regulation, which is a reason to move quickly rather than a reason to relax.Courttypically 180 days

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Belarus — Air Code of the Republic of Belarus and the Department of AviationBYNational — BelarusВоздушный кодекс Республики БеларусьConfidence: lowEU Regulation 261/2004 (air passenger rights)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 261/2004Confidence: highGermany — contractual damages beyond the Article 7 sum (BGB)DENational — GermanyRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: mediumItaly — ruined-holiday damages (danno da vacanza rovinata)ITNational — ItalyRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: lowMoldova — air passenger rights under the EU–Moldova Common Aviation Area AgreementMDNational — MoldovaEU–Moldova Common Aviation Area Agreement, Annex IIIConfidence: mediumRussian Federation — Air Code Art. 120 (carrier liability for delay)RUNational — RussiaВоздушный кодекс Российской Федерации, ст. 120 (Ответственность перевозчика за просрочку доставки пассажира, багажа или груза)Confidence: highSpain — further damages beyond the Article 7 sumESNational — SpainRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: lowTürkiye — SHY-YOLCU air passenger rights regulationTRNational — TürkiyeSHY-YOLCU, Kapsam (scope)Confidence: medium

Other rights in the same countries

Saudi Arabia — E-Commerce Law and its Implementing RegulationsSANational — Saudi ArabiaE-Commerce Law, Royal Decree No. M/126Confidence: lowSaudi Arabia — Personal Data Protection Law and Implementing RegulationsSANational — Saudi ArabiaPersonal Data Protection Law, Royal Decree M/19 of 1443H as amended by Royal Decree M/148 of 1444HConfidence: mediumSaudi Arabia — rental deposit (The Ejar (إيجار) network regulations of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, over the general law of obligations)SANational — Saudi ArabiaThe Ejar (إيجار) network regulations of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, over the general law of obligationsConfidence: lowSaudi Arabia — SAMA banking consumer protection principles and the banking disputes committeeSANational — Saudi ArabiaBanking Consumer Protection Principles, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)Confidence: lowSaudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) passenger conditions and the Transport General Authority passenger rightsSANational — Saudi ArabiaTransport General Authority passenger rights regulations for railway transportConfidence: lowSaudi Arabia — Saudi Post (SPL)SANational — Saudi ArabiaSaudi postal regulation issued by the Communications, Space and Technology CommissionConfidence: low

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

Run your factsBack to the catalogue

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.