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Kraków John Paul II International Airport (KRK): flight delays and compensation

Kraków John Paul II 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 Kraków John Paul II 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 Kraków (KRK) today

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About the airport

Kraków John Paul II International Airport (KRK) serves Kraków, Poland. On the routes Eurostat reports, 9,372,510 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 51st-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Frankfurt, London, Warsaw, 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 Kraków – 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 KRKReturn
Frankfurt FRA390,537801 km€250€250
London STN352,9351,379 km€250£220
Warsaw WAW333,855246 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS293,3911,074 km€250€250
Oslo OSL288,9251,251 km€250€250
London LTN287,8601,420 km€250£220
Munich MUC262,959611 km€250€250
London LGW261,2441,410 km€250£220
Manchester MAN245,5651,556 km€400£350
Milan BGY244,334896 km€250€250
Barcelona BCN236,0801,680 km€400€400
Vienna VIE215,686320 km€250€250
Eindhoven EIN212,0221,023 km€250€250
Dublin DUB208,8981,820 km€400€400
Paris CDG202,0621,246 km€250€250
Copenhagen CPH169,559779 km€250€250
Oslo TRF167,7231,181 km€250€250
Antalya AYT167,5081,710 km€400€400*
Rome CIA165,4891,074 km€250€250
Edinburgh EDI163,1631,671 km€400£350
Stockholm ARN161,1601,071 km€250€250
Bristol BRS155,2641,584 km€400£350
Milan MXP154,043960 km€250€250
Birmingham BHX151,1231,515 km€400£350
Paris BVA145,4541,268 km€250€250
Rome FCO137,8231,088 km€250€250
Leeds LBA133,9841,522 km€400£350
Brussels CRL133,9181,088 km€250€250
Málaga AGP126,9172,445 km€400€400
Helsinki HEL116,5881,184 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 John Paul II (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, 44,476 flights arrived at KRK; 1,358 of them were held back this way, 717 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.81 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather85%
  • ATC capacity5%
  • aerodrome capacity3%
  • other3%
  • ATC staffing2%
  • 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: 13 December 2025 – 3,300 minutes, mostly weather; 19 January 2025 – 2,558 minutes, mostly weather; 7 December 2025 – 2,372 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 36,759 arrivals, 0.27 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly equipment (ATC) (65%) and ATC capacity (17%).

Check what happened at KRK on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (85% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (9%) 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 Kraków John Paul II International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 44,476 arrivals at KRK in 2025; 1,358 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 717 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (85%).
  • The worst day was 13 December 2025, with 3,300 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%)
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    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 Kraków John Paul II International Airport?

    Yes. KRK 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 Kraków John Paul II 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.