In short: Any flight departing from Lisbon Humberto Delgado 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. EU261 applies to every departure. National enforcement body: ANAC.
Live at Lisbon (LIS) today
About the airport
Lisbon is Portugal's main airport and the hub of TAP Air Portugal, with strong links to Brazil, Africa and North America. It sits inside the city and operates close to its capacity; a new airport has been planned but will not open for years.
An EU airport: every departing flight is covered by EU261.
Busiest routes from Lisbon – 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.
| Destination | Passengers 2024 | Distance | From LIS | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid MAD | 1,906,228 | 513 km | €250 | €250 |
| Paris ORY | 1,545,371 | 1,438 km | €250 | €250 |
| Madeira FNC | 1,395,044 | 965 km | €250 | €250 |
| Barcelona BCN | 1,305,408 | 994 km | €250 | €250 |
| London LHR | 1,121,519 | 1,564 km | €400 | £350 |
| Amsterdam AMS | 1,045,272 | 1,846 km | €400 | €400 |
| Ponta Delgada PDL | 934,111 | 1,449 km | €250 | €250 |
| Porto OPO | 755,832 | 277 km | €250 | €250 |
| Frankfurt FRA | 733,217 | 1,873 km | €400 | €400 |
| Geneva GVA | 724,294 | 1,496 km | €250 | €250 |
| Milan MXP | 664,606 | 1,652 km | €400 | €400 |
| Rome FCO | 654,069 | 1,840 km | €400 | €400 |
| Zurich ZRH | 652,212 | 1,723 km | €400 | €400 |
| Paris CDG | 644,684 | 1,470 km | €250 | €250 |
| Munich MUC | 570,533 | 1,984 km | €400 | €400 |
| Dublin DUB | 543,726 | 1,643 km | €400 | €400 |
| Brussels BRU | 516,642 | 1,717 km | €400 | €400 |
| London LGW | 480,671 | 1,542 km | €400 | £350 |
| London STN | 413,258 | 1,628 km | €400 | £350 |
| London LTN | 393,900 | 1,606 km | €400 | £350 |
| Manchester MAN | 366,200 | 1,702 km | €400 | £350 |
| Luxembourg LUX | 356,065 | 1,712 km | €400 | €400 |
| Lyon LYS | 321,603 | 1,399 km | €250 | €250 |
| Terceira TER | 320,984 | 1,554 km | €400 | €400 |
| Berlin BER | 314,571 | 2,303 km | €400 | €400 |
| Faro FAO | 279,682 | 221 km | €250 | €250 |
| Milan BGY | 272,200 | 1,725 km | €400 | €400 |
| Copenhagen CPH | 270,020 | 2,472 km | €400 | €400 |
| Istanbul IST | 255,490 | 3,211 km | €400 | €400* |
| Vienna VIE | 246,281 | 2,305 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 Humberto Delgado (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, 115,294 flights arrived at LIS; 16,625 of them were held back this way, 7,508 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 2.83 minutes per arrival.
What caused the ATFM delay
Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Worst days: 17 March 2025 – 8,826 minutes, mostly weather; 31 December 2025 – 8,444 minutes, mostly weather; 20 January 2025 – 6,909 minutes, mostly weather.
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 87,320 arrivals, 1.86 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (56%) and aerodrome capacity (41%).
Check what happened at LIS on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (69% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (1%) 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 Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport
- Capacity: with very few spare slots in the peak hours, small disruptions spread through the day.
- Ground handling and airline staff strikes – not extraordinary circumstances when they involve the airline's own staff.
- Knock-on delays on long-haul connections arriving late from overseas.
Airlines you are likely to fly with here
- Ryanair
- easyJet
- Transavia
- British Airways
- Lufthansa
- Air France
- KLM
- Turkish Airlines
- Emirates
- Qatar Airways
- United Airlines
Check your flight from Lisbon
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Local information
- Portugal's enforcement body is ANAC (Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil).
- Flights to Madeira and the Azores are domestic EU flights and are covered by EU261 in the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport?
Yes. LIS 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 Lisbon Humberto Delgado 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
- Flight delay compensation
- Missed connection compensation
- National enforcement bodies and ADR
- All airports
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
- Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
- 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.