Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER): flight delays and compensation

About the airport

Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER) serves Crete, Greece. On the routes Eurostat reports, 8,069,480 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 63rd-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Athens, Düsseldorf, London, Frankfurt.

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 Crete – 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.

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

Air traffic flow delays at Heraklion (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, 33,258 flights arrived at HER; 7,059 of them were held back this way, 3,459 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 3.93 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

• aerodrome capacity99%
• ATC capacity1%
• weather1%
• other0%

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: 10 August 2025 – 2,650 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 20 August 2025 – 2,278 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 16 May 2025 – 2,141 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 29,073 arrivals, 4.60 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly aerodrome capacity (100%) and ATC capacity (0%).

Check what happened at HER on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (1% 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 Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport

• EUROCONTROL recorded 33,258 arrivals at HER in 2025; 7,059 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 3,459 of them by more than 15 minutes.
• The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (99%); weather accounted for 1%.
• The worst day was 10 August 2025, with 2,650 minutes of flow delay, mostly aerodrome capacity.
• 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

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 Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport?

Yes. HER 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 Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis 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

• Flight delay compensation
• Missed connection compensation
• National enforcement bodies and ADR
• All airports

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.