The Turkish SHY Passenger Regulation (often called SHY-Passenger) is Turkey’s official air passenger rights law. Its main purpose is to protect air passengers whenever their flight is delayed, cancelled, overbooked, or otherwise disrupted.

If you fly to, from, or within Turkey, this regulation may protect you — even if UK and EU air passenger rights regulations do not apply.

In simple terms, SHY-Passenger is Turkey’s version of the EU261 regulation/UK261 regulation.

What Does SHY Mean in Air Passenger Rights?

SHY is an abbreviation used in Turkish civil aviation law. It refers to passenger-related aviation rules issued by Turkey’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

When you see terms like SHY compensation or SHY passenger rights, they refer to this regulation.

When Are You Covered by SHY Regulation?

You are protected by SHY-Passenger if:

• Your flight departs from Turkey, or
• Your flight is domestic within Turkey, or
• You are flying with a Turkish airline

If you are flying with an airline registered in Turkey, you are protected on all of their flights (to, from, and within Turkey). Yes, that means that you are protected by the Turkish flight compensation regulation also on Turkish Airlines flights from Nairobi, Kenya, to Istanbul.

If you are flying with a non-Turkish airline, you are protected on flights from and within Turkey.

Also in this regard, the regulation is very similar to EU and UK regulations.

What Flight Problems Does SHY Regulation Cover?

You may have passenger rights under SHY-Passenger if you experience any of the following:

• A flight delay of more than 2 hours
• A flight cancellation
• Denied boarding due to overbooking
• A missed connection (due to the airline’s fault)
• A flight downgrade

Depending on your situation, you may be entitled to financial compensation, a refund, rebooking, meals, or hotel accommodation.

Take into account that the price of the ticket doesn’t matter. You may get the same Turkish flight compensation for a 100-dollar flight as for a 900-dollar flight.

How Much Compensation Can You Get Under Turkish SHY Regulation?

Under the Turkish SHY Passenger Regulation, you can get financial compensation of up to €600 per passenger, depending on your flight distance and the type of flight. You get less for domestic flights and more for international flights.

The amount you can receive depends on the flight distance

Compensation applies in cases of long delays, cancellations, and denied boarding

Here are the compensation amounts under SHY:

• €100 for domestic flights in Turkey
• €250 for short-haul flights (up to 1,500 km)
• Up to €400 for medium-haul international flights (1,500 – 3,500 km)
• Up to €600 for long-haul flights (more than 3,500 km)

Compensation is fixed. That means it does not depend on the ticket price you paid. In this case, the price of the ticket is irrelevant. Only the distance.

There are some scenarios when the amounts may be different, but it’s rare.