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Valencia Airport (VLC): flight delays and compensation

Valencia 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 Valencia 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 Valencia (VLC) today

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About the airport

Valencia Airport (VLC) serves Valencia, Spain. On the routes Eurostat reports, 9,779,721 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 49th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Palma de Mallorca, Amsterdam, Rome, Paris.

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 Valencia – 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 VLCReturn
Palma de Mallorca PMI718,467276 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS482,0391,481 km€250€250
Rome FCO435,7081,104 km€250€250
Paris ORY406,8191,052 km€250€250
Madrid MAD379,247286 km€250€250
Ibiza IBZ348,973174 km€250€250
Seville SVQ292,949524 km€250€250
London LGW290,2171,297 km€250£220
Zurich ZRH259,9111,146 km€250€250
Eindhoven EIN253,3531,405 km€250€250
Frankfurt FRA253,2261,370 km€250€250
Milan BGY252,3491,079 km€250€250
Brussels BRU220,3281,327 km€250€250
London STN214,0451,379 km€250£220
Istanbul IST209,0422,471 km€400€400*
Bilbao BIO200,421470 km€250€250
Bologna BLQ183,0541,121 km€250€250
Lisbon LIS179,429750 km€250€250
Paris CDG172,1621,086 km€250€250
Tenerife TFN167,6961,902 km€400€400
Málaga AGP165,648470 km€250€250
Santiago de Compostela SCQ165,057764 km€250€250
Milan MXP162,7061,016 km€250€250
Vienna VIE159,9551,665 km€400€400
Berlin BER128,5771,787 km€400€400
Porto OPO124,584721 km€250€250
Brussels CRL123,3801,280 km€250€250
London LHR121,1051,332 km€250£220
Bucharest OTP119,7122,256 km€400€400
Pisa PSA116,7001,016 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 Valencia (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, 44,115 flights arrived at VLC; 3 of them were held back this way, 0 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.00 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • weather100%

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: 9 October 2025 – 4 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 34,920 arrivals, 0.02 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (89%) and accident/incident (11%).

Check what happened at VLC on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (100% 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 Valencia Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 44,115 arrivals at VLC in 2025; 3 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 0 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (100%).
  • The worst day was 9 October 2025, with 4 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 Valencia Airport?

    Yes. VLC 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 Valencia 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.