Kos International Airport "Ippokratis" (KGS): flight delays and compensation

Kos International Airport "Ippokratis". 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 Kos International Airport "Ippokratis" 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.

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About the airport

Kos International Airport "Ippokratis" (KGS) serves Kos, Greece. On the routes Eurostat reports, 2,606,928 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 132nd-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Athens, Manchester, London, Amsterdam.

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 Kos – 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 KGSReturn
Athens ATH306,368306 km€250€250
Manchester MAN169,8342,916 km€400£350
London LGW157,5412,678 km€400£350
Amsterdam AMS156,2092,452 km€400€400
Düsseldorf DUS121,0682,274 km€400€400
Brussels BRU102,2582,380 km€400€400
Birmingham BHX94,6612,839 km€400£350
Frankfurt FRA93,6672,088 km€400€400
Munich MUC82,0251,789 km€400€400
Bristol BRS81,4392,849 km€400£350
Zurich ZRH76,9221,927 km€400€400
Katowice KTW72,4021,650 km€400€400
Warsaw WAW69,5201,775 km€400€400
London STN69,4662,690 km€400£350
Stuttgart STR67,2601,961 km€400€400
Berlin BER64,0452,031 km€400€400
Hamburg HAM62,0312,289 km€400€400
Prague PRG60,0621,801 km€400€400
Cologne CGN57,1732,224 km€400€400
Vienna VIE55,2001,523 km€400€400
Hanover HAJ54,0022,209 km€400€400
East Midlands EMA45,6422,833 km€400£350
Eindhoven EIN41,7702,362 km€400€400
Nuremberg NUE37,0981,911 km€400€400
Milan MXP35,0411,817 km€400€400
Newcastle NCL34,5532,973 km€400£350
Milan BGY34,4191,751 km€400€400
Leipzig LEJ34,1442,005 km€400€400
Wrocław WRO31,6821,785 km€400€400
Poznań POZ31,0851,914 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 Kos (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, 12,007 flights arrived at KGS; 790 of them were held back this way, 501 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 1.56 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • ATC capacity90%
  • weather6%
  • ATC staffing4%
  • aerodrome capacity0%

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: 26 July 2025 – 722 minutes, mostly ATC capacity; 19 September 2025 – 669 minutes, mostly weather; 5 July 2025 – 511 minutes, mostly ATC capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 10,399 arrivals, 1.60 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly ATC capacity (89%) and aerodrome capacity (6%).

Check what happened at KGS on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (6% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (94%) 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 Kos International Airport "Ippokratis"

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 12,007 arrivals at KGS in 2025; 790 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 501 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was ATC capacity (90%); weather accounted for 6%.
  • The worst day was 26 July 2025, with 722 minutes of flow delay, mostly ATC 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

    Check your flight from Kos

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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.

    Details
    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?
    Flight details
    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 Kos International Airport "Ippokratis"?

    Yes. KGS 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 Kos International Airport "Ippokratis"?

    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.