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Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ): flight delays and compensation

Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport. As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.

Live at Bologna (BLQ) today

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About the airport

Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) serves Bologna, Italy. On the routes Eurostat reports, 9,139,796 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 53rd-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Catania, Tirana, Barcelona, Palermo.

Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.

Busiest routes from Bologna – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom BLQReturn
Catania CTA618,424847 km€250€250
Tirana TIA475,845768 km€250€250*
Barcelona BCN462,133831 km€250€250
Palermo PMO338,567723 km€250€250
Istanbul IST326,1931,463 km€250€250*
Paris CDG292,797830 km€250€250
Madrid MAD292,4831,296 km€250€250
London LHR270,3691,163 km€250£220
Bucharest OTP269,5081,172 km€250€250
Frankfurt FRA246,467644 km€250€250
Brindisi BDS241,779695 km€250€250
Rome FCO237,340314 km€250€250
Cagliari CAG231,924616 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS231,655988 km€250€250
Munich MUC211,165426 km€250€250
Vienna VIE207,839568 km€250€250
London STN198,6821,155 km€250£220
Bari BRI197,493584 km€250€250
Valencia VLC183,0541,121 km€250€250
Athens ATH179,6181,285 km€250€250
Lamezia Terme SUF177,428749 km€250€250
Olbia OLB174,636429 km€250€250
Brussels CRL172,093834 km€250€250
Lisbon LIS167,9501,807 km€400€400
Copenhagen CPH159,6501,236 km€250€250
Berlin BER146,002885 km€250€250
Alghero AHO145,802499 km€250€250
Istanbul SAW136,6231,523 km€400€400*
Trapani TPS131,464743 km€250€250
Paris BVA119,280884 km€250€250

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Guglielmo Marconi (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 42,121 flights arrived at BLQ; 113 of them were held back this way, 48 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.05 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather41%
  • environmental issues29%
  • other15%
  • aerodrome capacity14%
  • equipment (ATC)1%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 30 December 2025 – 295 minutes, mostly weather; 24 January 2025 – 275 minutes, mostly weather; 27 July 2025 – 230 minutes, mostly environmental issues.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 33,209 arrivals, 0.40 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly environmental issues (71%) and industrial action (ATC) (13%).

Air traffic control strike days recorded for BLQ since 2024: 24 January 2024 (112 min); 10 April 2026 (1,364 min); 30 September 2026 (307 min).

Check what happened at BLQ on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (41% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (1%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 42,121 arrivals at BLQ in 2025; 113 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 48 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (41%).
  • The worst day was 30 December 2025, with 295 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
    • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport?

    Yes. BLQ is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.