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La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport (LRH): flight delays and compensation

La Rochelle Île de Ré 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 La Rochelle Île de Ré 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.

About the airport

La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport (LRH) serves La Rochelle, France. On the routes Eurostat reports, 258,012 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 283rd-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Marseille, London, Porto, Lyon.

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 La Rochelle – and what a delay is worth

The 9 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 LRHReturn
Marseille MRS51,935590 km€250€250
London STN49,171643 km€250£220
Porto OPO43,354813 km€250€250
Lyon LYS31,485488 km€250€250
Dublin DUB26,648884 km€250€250
London LGW14,402558 km€250£220
Brussels CRL14,321633 km€250€250
Geneva GVA13,580562 km€250€250
Cork ORK13,116824 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 La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport (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, 2,424 flights arrived at LRH; 1 of them were held back this way, 0 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.00 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • accident/incident100%

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: 17 November 2025 – 9 minutes, mostly accident/incident.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 2,033 arrivals, 0.04 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly equipment (ATC) (99%) and accident/incident (1%).

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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 La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 2,424 arrivals at LRH in 2025; 1 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 0 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was accident/incident (100%).
  • The worst day was 17 November 2025, with 9 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

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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 La Rochelle Île de Ré Airport?

    Yes. LRH 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 La Rochelle Île de Ré 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.