Originally Posted by
mlin32
Expedia sold you the tickets, and therefore is the one responsible. Not AF.
There is no EU 261 to apply as this was an extraordinary event beyond the carrier's control. Kind of like the whole volanic ash episode.
This is not correct.
First of all, only compensation is excluded for extraordinary events. Even if we accept that this was not within the airline's control, other parts of the regulation still apply, most notably the duty of care.
Under the duty of care rules, it is the operating carrier's responsibility to provide, among other things, a rerouting to the final destination. It doesn't matter who sold the ticket, AF was legally required to offer alternative flights to the OP. That obligation ceased to exist once OP requested a refund (which is an alternative customer may choose instead of rerouting).
Sadly, Expedia gave a very poor advice here...