In short: Any flight departing from Marseille Provence 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 Marseille (MRS) today
About the airport
Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) serves Marseille, France. On the routes Eurostat reports, 7,511,455 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 68th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Paris, Nantes, Paris, Bordeaux.
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 Marseille – 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 MRS | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris CDG | 739,735 | 652 km | €250 | €250 |
| Nantes NTE | 403,802 | 674 km | €250 | €250 |
| Paris ORY | 380,182 | 628 km | €250 | €250 |
| Bordeaux BOD | 358,361 | 498 km | €250 | €250 |
| Bastia BIA | 310,846 | 361 km | €250 | €250 |
| Ajaccio AJA | 300,107 | 338 km | €250 | €250 |
| London LHR | 275,549 | 989 km | €250 | £220 |
| Madrid MAD | 261,181 | 796 km | €250 | €250 |
| Amsterdam AMS | 259,018 | 987 km | €250 | €250 |
| Munich MUC | 234,929 | 746 km | €250 | €250 |
| Lisbon LIS | 231,085 | 1,307 km | €250 | €250 |
| Brussels CRL | 218,052 | 783 km | €250 | €250 |
| Frankfurt FRA | 213,594 | 776 km | €250 | €250 |
| London STN | 209,104 | 1,010 km | €250 | £220 |
| Rome FCO | 203,345 | 604 km | €250 | €250 |
| Istanbul IST | 200,179 | 1,941 km | €400 | €400* |
| Porto OPO | 152,561 | 1,166 km | €250 | €250 |
| London LGW | 151,936 | 948 km | €250 | £220 |
| Istanbul SAW | 143,070 | 1,999 km | €400 | €400* |
| Brussels BRU | 135,855 | 832 km | €250 | €250 |
| Brest BES | 129,669 | 929 km | €250 | €250 |
| Lille LIL | 119,888 | 809 km | €250 | €250 |
| Barcelona BCN | 117,493 | 351 km | €250 | €250 |
| Palma de Mallorca PMI | 110,317 | 479 km | €250 | €250 |
| Figari FSC | 107,541 | 384 km | €250 | €250 |
| Málaga AGP | 105,391 | 1,116 km | €250 | €250 |
| Alicante ALC | 95,332 | 751 km | €250 | €250 |
| Dublin DUB | 90,676 | 1,393 km | €250 | €250 |
| Vienna VIE | 90,099 | 1,021 km | €250 | €250 |
| Athens ATH | 85,329 | 1,689 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 Provence (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, 49,716 flights arrived at MRS; 3,547 of them were held back this way, 1,395 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 1.36 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: 28 October 2025 – 3,306 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC); 31 October 2025 – 2,282 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC); 30 October 2025 – 2,250 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC).
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 37,927 arrivals, 0.88 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly special event (32%) and other (25%).
Air traffic control strike days recorded for MRS since 2024: 5 December 2024 (985 min); 13 May 2025 (671 min); 14 May 2025 (662 min); 5 June 2025 (1,069 min); 3 July 2025 (1,604 min); 4 July 2025 (857 min); 10 September 2025 (709 min); 29 September 2026 (1,815 min) and 7 earlier.
Check what happened at MRS on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (3% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (71%), ATC strikes (8%) 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 Marseille Provence Airport
- EUROCONTROL recorded 49,716 arrivals at MRS in 2025; 3,547 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 1,395 of them by more than 15 minutes.
- The largest single cause of this flow delay was equipment (ATC) (63%); weather accounted for 3%.
- The worst day was 28 October 2025, with 3,306 minutes of flow delay, mostly equipment (ATC).
- 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 Marseille
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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 Marseille Provence Airport?
Yes. MRS 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 Marseille Provence 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
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