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Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO): flight delays and compensation

Francisco de Sá Carneiro 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 Francisco de Sá Carneiro 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.

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About the airport

Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) serves Porto, Portugal. On the routes Eurostat reports, 14,121,728 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 34th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Paris, Madrid, Geneva, Lisbon.

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 Porto – 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 OPOReturn
Paris ORY1,139,2511,200 km€250€250
Madrid MAD1,042,503438 km€250€250
Geneva GVA820,4131,309 km€250€250
Lisbon LIS755,832277 km€250€250
Barcelona BCN703,710899 km€250€250
Madeira FNC608,5921,191 km€250€250
Luxembourg LUX499,5591,485 km€250€250
Zurich ZRH461,9081,530 km€400€400
London LGW424,7081,279 km€250£220
Amsterdam AMS420,1621,595 km€400€400
London STN372,8681,363 km€250£220
Frankfurt FRA356,7001,652 km€400€400
Ponta Delgada PDL340,1831,509 km€400€400
Paris BVA334,7211,240 km€250€250
Lyon LYS305,0641,215 km€250€250
Basel BSL256,1191,464 km€250€250
Milan MXP246,0931,484 km€250€250
Paris CDG244,4801,231 km€250€250
Faro FAO243,697475 km€250€250
Nantes NTE233,343865 km€250€250
Brussels BRU231,7671,473 km€250€250
Munich MUC203,1251,790 km€400€400
Bordeaux BOD180,834760 km€250€250
Brussels CRL171,0491,440 km€250€250
Istanbul IST165,2823,103 km€400€400*
Milan BGY163,9331,559 km€400€400
Marseille MRS152,5611,166 km€250€250
Vienna VIE142,2922,125 km€400€400
Rome FCO136,5011,739 km€400€400
Manchester MAN126,8881,428 km€250£220

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

Air traffic flow delays at Francisco Sá Carneiro (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, 56,319 flights arrived at OPO; 4,324 of them were held back this way, 2,790 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 2.45 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather73%
  • aerodrome capacity11%
  • equipment (ATC)10%
  • ATC staffing4%
  • other1%
  • equipment (non-ATC)0%

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: 6 June 2025 – 7,259 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC); 30 May 2025 – 7,178 minutes, mostly weather; 3 October 2025 – 5,533 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 45,260 arrivals, 1.14 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (86%) and aerodrome capacity (7%).

Air traffic control strike days recorded for OPO since 2024: 2 June 2026 (60 min).

Check what happened at OPO on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (73% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (14%) 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 Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 56,319 arrivals at OPO in 2025; 4,324 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 2,790 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (73%).
  • The worst day was 6 June 2025, with 7,259 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

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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 Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport?

    Yes. OPO 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 Francisco de Sá Carneiro 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.