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Cork International Airport (ORK): flight delays and compensation

Cork International 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 Cork International 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 Cork (ORK) today

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About the airport

Cork International Airport (ORK) serves Cork, Ireland. On the routes Eurostat reports, 2,926,274 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 125th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to London, London, Amsterdam, Málaga.

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 Cork – 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 ORKReturn
London LHR404,304555 km€250£220
London STN311,454599 km€250£220
Amsterdam AMS239,176906 km€250€250
Málaga AGP179,7731,715 km€400€400
Manchester MAN171,619452 km€250£220
Faro FAO168,2441,649 km€400€400
Edinburgh EDI130,211566 km€250£220
London LGW126,679580 km€250£220
Lanzarote ACE124,0902,581 km€400€400
Tenerife TFS93,7062,730 km€400€400
Palma de Mallorca PMI84,4131,617 km€400€400
London LTN77,826558 km€250£220
Birmingham BHX63,935465 km€250£220
Alicante ALC59,5231,629 km€400€400
Reus REU56,3061,398 km€250€250
Valencia VLC56,1961,506 km€400€400
Poznań POZ54,2861,720 km€400€400
Liverpool LPL46,178416 km€250£220
Paris BVA45,288792 km€250€250
Gdańsk GDN45,1261,810 km€400€400
Paris CDG42,584842 km€250€250
Bristol BRS40,643402 km€250£220
Rome FCO40,4621,922 km€400€400
Barcelona BCN36,6291,421 km€250€250
Seville SVQ34,8341,617 km€400€400
Brussels CRL31,882915 km€250€250
Milan BGY28,5171,495 km€250€250
Girona GRO27,7091,394 km€250€250
Bordeaux BOD25,670968 km€250€250
Gran Canaria LPA25,2192,720 km€400€400

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

Air traffic flow delays at Cork (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, 13,376 flights arrived at ORK; 3 of them were held back this way, 1 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.01 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather100%

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: 5 January 2025 – 82 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 10,432 arrivals, 0.00 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly ATC staffing (100%).

Check what happened at ORK on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (100% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (0%) 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 Cork International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 13,376 arrivals at ORK in 2025; 3 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 1 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (100%).
  • The worst day was 5 January 2025, with 82 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 Cork International Airport?

    Yes. ORK 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 Cork International 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.