Munich Airport (MUC): flight delays and compensation

Live at Munich (MUC) today

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About the airport

Munich is Lufthansa's second hub and a convenient transfer airport: Terminal 2 is compact, so connections are relatively quick. More than 41 million passengers used it in 2024.

An EU airport under German law.

Busiest routes from Munich – 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.

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Franz Josef Strauss (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, 167,396 flights arrived at MUC; 4,110 of them were held back this way, 1,561 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.42 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

• weather77%
• ATC capacity11%
• other3%
• equipment (ATC)3%
• airspace management2%
• equipment (non-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: 1 August 2025 – 4,904 minutes, mostly weather; 4 June 2025 – 2,982 minutes, mostly weather; 26 June 2025 – 2,705 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 118,603 arrivals, 0.40 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (87%) and ATC capacity (8%).

Check what happened at MUC on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (77% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (19%) 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 Munich Airport

• Winter snow: in December 2023 the airport was closed for days – an extraordinary circumstance.
• Strikes by Lufthansa staff – not extraordinary circumstances.
• Short connections: when the airline sells a tight connection and the feeder flight is late, the risk is the airline's on a single booking.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

• Lufthansa
• Eurowings
• Wizz Air
• Ryanair
• United Airlines
• Emirates
• Qatar Airways

Local information

• If an airline offers miles or vouchers instead of money, you do not have to accept: under Article 7(3) vouchers require your signed agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Munich Airport?

Yes. MUC 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 Munich 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

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.