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Paphos International Airport (PFO): flight delays and compensation

Paphos International 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 Paphos International 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 Paphos (PFO) today

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About the airport

Paphos International Airport (PFO) serves Paphos, Cyprus. On the routes Eurostat reports, 3,226,257 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 115th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to London, Manchester, London, Thessaloniki.

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 Paphos – 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.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom PFOReturn
London LGW385,0003,186 km€400£350
Manchester MAN294,3453,412 km€400£350
London STN211,4163,191 km€400£350
Thessaloniki SKG157,2981,057 km€250€250
Birmingham BHX120,7513,340 km€400£350
Bristol BRS113,4503,359 km€400£350
Athens ATH107,055844 km€250€250
Newcastle NCL89,0073,456 km€400£350
Vienna VIE88,1151,987 km€400€400
Sofia SOF84,6221,184 km€250€250
Budapest BUD81,9831,791 km€400€400
London LTN78,3963,228 km€400£350
Bucharest OTP76,1851,223 km€250€250
Katowice KTW68,9282,060 km€400€400
East Midlands EMA66,1093,331 km€400£350
Crete CHQ64,539763 km€250€250
Wrocław WRO63,1402,211 km€400€400
Edinburgh EDI59,4323,596 km€600£520
Amsterdam AMS56,7852,938 km€400€400
Poznań POZ52,9172,327 km€400€400
Kraków KRK49,1941,995 km€400€400
Leeds LBA47,1593,398 km€400£350
Berlin BER45,0102,472 km€400€400
Glasgow GLA44,6473,652 km€600£520
Zagreb ZAG43,5241,850 km€400€400
Cologne CGN40,6622,714 km€400€400
Tallinn TLL39,8842,802 km€400€400
Riga RIX38,4322,551 km€400€400
Gdańsk GDN38,3622,442 km€400€400
Kaunas KUN38,3592,343 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 Paphos (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, 12,824 flights arrived at PFO; 126 of them were held back this way, 50 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.16 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity100%
  • ATC capacity0%

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 August 2025 – 177 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 21 September 2025 – 158 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 18 June 2025 – 156 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 10,853 arrivals, 0.21 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly aerodrome capacity (100%).

Check what happened at PFO on your travel day →

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 Paphos International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 12,824 arrivals at PFO in 2025; 126 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 50 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (100%).
  • The worst day was 17 August 2025, with 177 minutes of flow delay, mostly aerodrome capacity.
  • 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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    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 Paphos International Airport?

    Yes. PFO 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 Paphos International 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.