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Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN): flight delays and compensation

Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna 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 Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna 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 Tenerife (TFN) today

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About the airport

Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN) serves Tenerife, Spain. On the routes Eurostat reports, 6,702,213 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 71st-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Madrid, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Barcelona.

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 Tenerife – and what a delay is worth

The 20 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 TFNReturn
Madrid MAD1,785,8631,772 km€400€400
Gran Canaria LPA974,985112 km€250€250
La Palma SPC734,233139 km€250€250
Barcelona BCN627,9342,195 km€400€400
Lanzarote ACE427,136272 km€250€250
Seville SVQ340,3291,390 km€250€250
Fuerteventura FUE335,517242 km€250€250
El Hierro Island VDE249,797169 km€250€250
Málaga AGP246,0061,434 km€250€250
Bilbao BIO218,4472,038 km€400€400
Valencia VLC167,6961,902 km€400€400
Alicante ALC154,4331,822 km€400€400
Santiago de Compostela SCQ123,8381,753 km€400€400
Asturias OVD97,5951,912 km€400€400
La Gomera GMZ62,25199 km€250€250
Granada GRX43,6771,519 km€400€400
Vigo VGO40,9101,679 km€400€400
Zaragoza ZAZ28,9042,016 km€400€400
Jerez XRY22,2991,329 km€250€250
Santander SDR20,3632,003 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 North (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, 40,598 flights arrived at TFN; 436 of them were held back this way, 230 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.25 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather58%
  • ATC capacity36%
  • airspace management3%
  • special event2%
  • ATC staffing1%
  • equipment (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: 18 October 2025 – 2,480 minutes, mostly weather; 5 December 2025 – 821 minutes, mostly ATC capacity; 30 July 2025 – 732 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 31,761 arrivals, 0.26 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (79%) and ATC capacity (18%).

Check what happened at TFN on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (58% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (40%) 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 Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 40,598 arrivals at TFN in 2025; 436 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 230 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (58%).
  • The worst day was 18 October 2025, with 2,480 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
  • 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 Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport?

    Yes. TFN 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 Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna 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.