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Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ): flight delays and compensation

Leipzig/Halle 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 Leipzig/Halle 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 Leipzig (LEJ) today

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About the airport

Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) serves Leipzig, Germany. On the routes Eurostat reports, 1,716,835 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 149th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Antalya, Palma de Mallorca, Frankfurt, Crete.

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 Leipzig – and what a delay is worth

The 18 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 LEJReturn
Antalya AYT439,8212,179 km€400€400*
Palma de Mallorca PMI254,3841,510 km€400€400
Frankfurt FRA253,416301 km€250€250
Crete HER105,4572,065 km€400€400
Gran Canaria LPA87,9023,482 km€400€400
Fuerteventura FUE73,9223,351 km€400€400
Tenerife TFS72,1353,537 km€400€400
London STN63,931828 km€250£220
Vienna VIE57,006482 km€250€250
Rhodes RHO56,5832,088 km€400€400
Istanbul IST54,1621,689 km€400€400*
Corfu CFU35,5651,442 km€250€250
Munich MUC34,511343 km€250€250
Kos KGS34,1442,005 km€400€400
Varna VAR30,8761,482 km€250€250
Burgas BOJ22,4681,515 km€400€400
Bucharest OTP20,3411,279 km€250€250
Madeira FNC20,2113,136 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 Leipzig/Halle (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, 35,404 flights arrived at LEJ; 448 of them were held back this way, 153 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.18 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather85%
  • ATC staffing7%
  • ATC capacity5%
  • aerodrome capacity4%
  • 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: 27 August 2025 – 931 minutes, mostly weather; 13 February 2025 – 632 minutes, mostly weather; 25 July 2025 – 559 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 25,985 arrivals, 0.28 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (95%) and ATC capacity (5%).

Check what happened at LEJ on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (85% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (11%) 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 Leipzig/Halle Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 35,404 arrivals at LEJ in 2025; 448 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 153 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (85%).
  • The worst day was 27 August 2025, with 931 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%)
    • 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 Leipzig/Halle Airport?

    Yes. LEJ 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 Leipzig/Halle 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.