Tonga — Ministry of Infrastructure, Civil Aviation Division

The clocks it starts

• Two years for a Montreal Convention claim (Art. 35)This is the limitation period for the Convention claim for proven delay damages on international carriage, not for any national compensation scheme, which may have its own. It is fatal to the Convention claim specifically, and correspondence does not suspend it.Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35(1) — Art. 35(1)Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• Check the regime at the other end of the ticket firstLong-haul Pacific itineraries almost always touch a jurisdiction with a real tariff. A flight departing Australia engages the Australian Consumer Law; one departing New Zealand engages the Civil Aviation Act 2023 delay provisions, which are unusually generous; one departing an EU or UK airport engages Regulation 261/2004 or its UK equivalent against any carrier. Where a small-island regime has nothing to offer, the leg that departed Sydney, Auckland or London very often does.
• 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)

Where to take it next

1. 01Written claim to the airlineComplain to the carrier in writing with the flight, the disruption and your itemised loss, and ask which provision of its conditions of carriage or the national regulations it says applies.Claim direct·typically 30 days
2. 02Civil Aviation Division, Ministry of InfrastructureThe Civil Aviation Division regulates carriers operating to, from and within Tonga. The Ministry of Trade and Economic Development handles consumer complaints about services.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
3. 03Small claims or magistrates' courtBinding on themAvailable where the carrier refuses. Most Pacific jurisdictions run a small-claims process suitable for a disruption claim built on receipts.Small claims·typically 180 days