Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN): flight delays and compensation

Stockholm-Arlanda 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 Stockholm-Arlanda 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

Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN) serves Stockholm, Sweden. On the routes Eurostat reports, 20,250,871 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 26th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Luleå.

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 Stockholm – 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 ARNReturn
Copenhagen CPH1,299,390547 km€250€250
Oslo OSL1,146,116385 km€250€250
Helsinki HEL1,044,407398 km€250€250
Luleå LLA902,451689 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS894,2391,152 km€250€250
London LHR860,9231,463 km€250£220
Málaga AGP578,2163,016 km€400€400
Umeå UME551,953477 km€250€250
Paris CDG535,1771,539 km€400€400
Frankfurt FRA520,8021,224 km€250€250
Munich MUC517,1471,317 km€250€250
Alicante ALC414,3342,711 km€400€400
Vienna VIE411,5111,286 km€250€250
Gothenburg GOT396,135394 km€250€250
Zurich ZRH363,8281,487 km€250€250
Gdańsk GDN345,201587 km€250€250
Palma de Mallorca PMI328,8912,475 km€400€400
Barcelona BCN326,0352,315 km€400€400
Riga RIX323,634465 km€250€250
Tallinn TLL321,724390 km€250€250
Berlin BER317,934855 km€250€250
London LGW311,5221,475 km€250£220
Brussels BRU287,9901,288 km€250€250
Skellefteå SFT282,351577 km€250€250
Istanbul IST261,7082,175 km€400€400*
Istanbul SAW245,8532,229 km€400€400*
Rome FCO232,2292,022 km€400€400
Malmö MMX224,725531 km€250€250
Gran Canaria LPA223,7004,335 km€400€400
Kiruna KRN216,237916 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 Arlanda (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, 100,916 flights arrived at ARN; 138 of them were held back this way, 32 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.01 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity64%
  • weather36%

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: 4 September 2025 – 552 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 24 October 2025 – 246 minutes, mostly weather; 27 August 2025 – 164 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 76,648 arrivals, 0.10 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (97%) and aerodrome capacity (3%).

Check what happened at ARN on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (36% 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 Stockholm-Arlanda Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 100,916 arrivals at ARN in 2025; 138 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 32 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (64%); weather accounted for 36%.
  • The worst day was 4 September 2025, with 552 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.

    Details
    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?
    Flight details
    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 Stockholm-Arlanda Airport?

    Yes. ARN 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 Stockholm-Arlanda 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.