Check compensationCheck

Adnan Menderes International Airport (ADB): flight delays and compensation

Adnan Menderes International Airport. Not an EU airport: flights to Izmir from the EU and flights operated by EU airlines are covered by EU 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

Check compensation or start a claim with AirHelp straight away

In short: Flights departing from Adnan Menderes International Airport are covered by EU261 only with an EU airline; flights from an EU airport to Izmir are always covered, and flights from the UK by UK261. Departures: covered only on EU (or UK) airlines flying to the EU (or UK).

Live at Izmir (ADB) today

Loading the live board…

About the airport

Adnan Menderes International Airport (ADB) serves Izmir, Turkey. On the routes Eurostat reports, 9,961,355 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 48th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Istanbul, Istanbul, Ankara, Tymbou (Kirklar).

This airport is outside the EU and the UK: departing flights are covered by EU261 only if an EU airline operates them to the EU (or UK261 if a UK or EU airline flies them to the UK). Flights arriving here from the EU or the UK are covered with any airline.

Busiest routes from Izmir – 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 ADBReturn
Istanbul IST1,899,873358 km––
Istanbul SAW1,724,367343 km––
Ankara ESB875,721543 km––
Tymbou (Kirklar) ECN470,870665 km€250*€250
Düsseldorf DUS349,7882,149 km€400*€400
Antalya AYT291,636356 km––
Frankfurt FRA290,8111,966 km€400*€400
Gaziantep GZT264,279921 km––
Diyarbakır DIY264,2341,141 km––
Berlin BER233,4711,887 km€400*€400
Cologne CGN230,1342,101 km€400*€400
Stuttgart STR227,3591,844 km€400*€400
Munich MUC213,2521,667 km€400*€400
London STN193,0842,574 km£350*£350
Adana COV174,506714 km––
Amsterdam AMS147,9582,327 km€400*€400
Van VAN135,4901,408 km––
Kayseri ASR130,683727 km––
Trabzon TZX128,3321,121 km––
Brussels BRU115,0862,262 km€400*€400
Hamburg HAM108,0332,149 km€400*€400
Hanover HAJ106,3212,073 km€400*€400
Zurich ZRH100,7361,820 km€400*€400
Paris CDG91,1162,295 km€400*€400
Dublin DUB89,9063,044 km€400*€400
Samsun SZF87,457868 km––
Vienna VIE82,4051,386 km€250*€250
Mardin MQM79,2881,189 km––
Manchester MAN77,2892,797 km£350*£350
Skopje SKP73,984622 km––

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

Air traffic flow delays at Adnan Menderes (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, 38,142 flights arrived at ADB; 105 of them were held back this way, 43 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.07 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • accident/incident49%
  • aerodrome capacity28%
  • other22%
  • special event2%

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: 3 July 2025 – 1,380 minutes, mostly accident/incident; 29 June 2025 – 565 minutes, mostly other; 23 November 2025 – 249 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 30,583 arrivals, 0.02 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (60%) and other (41%).

Check what happened at ADB on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (0% 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 Adnan Menderes International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 38,142 arrivals at ADB in 2025; 105 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 43 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was accident/incident (49%).
  • The worst day was 3 July 2025, with 1,380 minutes of flow delay, mostly accident/incident.
  • 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

    Check your flight from Izmir

    Two minutes, free, no sign-up.

    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 Adnan Menderes International Airport?

    Only if the flight is operated by an EU airline. With a non-EU airline, EU261 does not apply to departures from Adnan Menderes International Airport, but local rules and the Montreal Convention may give you a claim for proven losses.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Adnan Menderes International Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport (for example Frankfurt, Madrid or Budapest): yes, under EU261, whatever the airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261.

    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.