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Skopje International Airport (SKP): flight delays and compensation

Skopje International Airport. Not an EU airport: flights to Skopje from the EU and flights operated by EU airlines are covered by EU 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: Flights departing from Skopje International Airport are covered by EU261 only with an EU airline; flights from an EU airport to Skopje are always covered, and flights from the UK by UK261. Departures: covered only on EU (or UK) airlines flying to the EU (or UK).

Live at Skopje (SKP) today

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About the airport

Skopje International Airport (SKP) serves Skopje, North Macedonia. On the routes Eurostat reports, 2,808,105 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 129th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Istanbul, Istanbul, Basel, Zurich.

This airport is outside the EU and the UK: departing flights are covered by EU261 only if an EU airline operates them to the EU (or UK261 if a UK or EU airline flies them to the UK). Flights arriving here from the EU or the UK are covered with any airline.

Busiest routes from Skopje – 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 SKPReturn
Istanbul SAW214,833651 km––
Istanbul IST169,737596 km––
Basel BSL158,2821,275 km€250*€250
Zurich ZRH149,5951,198 km€250*€250
Dortmund DTM128,5191,502 km€400*€400
Vienna VIE128,465791 km€250*€250
Memmingen FMM123,4331,117 km€250*€250
Frankfurt FRA105,8301,347 km€250*€250
Antalya AYT98,199968 km––
Berlin BER95,6641,308 km€250*€250
Eindhoven EIN86,1451,621 km€400*€400
Brussels CRL82,6041,618 km€400*€400
Izmir ADB73,984622 km––
Hamburg HAM68,6401,558 km€400*€400
Bratislava BTS67,409772 km€250*€250
London LTN64,3791,989 km£350*£350
Malmö MMX64,3531,624 km€400*€400
Belgrade BEG60,360335 km––
Zagreb ZAG60,325612 km€250*€250
Karlsruhe FKB58,8591,299 km€250*€250
Ljubljana LJU54,719743 km€250*€250
Frankfurt HHN54,6901,418 km€250*€250
Malta MLA54,114917 km€250*€250
Nuremberg NUE49,9841,170 km€250*€250
Cologne CGN46,2321,483 km€250*€250
Milan MXP44,5241,111 km€250*€250
Paris BVA43,5261,722 km€400*€400
Warsaw WAW41,2831,136 km€250*€250
Copenhagen CPH40,6321,652 km€400*€400
Friedrichshafen FDH38,3341,145 km€250*€250

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

Air traffic flow delays at Skopje (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, 12,136 flights arrived at SKP; 51 of them were held back this way, 38 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.12 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • equipment (ATC)100%

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: 24 September 2025 – 520 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC); 21 September 2025 – 357 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC); 22 September 2025 – 259 minutes, mostly equipment (ATC).

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 9,999 arrivals, 0.01 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly aerodrome capacity (100%).

Check what happened at SKP on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (0% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (100%) 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 Skopje International Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 12,136 arrivals at SKP in 2025; 51 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 38 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was equipment (ATC) (100%).
  • The worst day was 24 September 2025, with 520 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 Skopje International Airport?

    Only if the flight is operated by an EU airline. With a non-EU airline, EU261 does not apply to departures from Skopje International Airport, but local rules and the Montreal Convention may give you a claim for proven losses.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Skopje International Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport (for example Frankfurt, Madrid or Budapest): yes, under EU261, whatever the airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261.

    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.