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Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW): flight delays and compensation

Warsaw Chopin 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 Warsaw Chopin 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

Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) serves Warsaw, Poland. On the routes Eurostat reports, 16,447,904 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 30th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Antalya, Amsterdam, London, 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 Warsaw – 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 WAWReturn
Antalya AYT657,5671,864 km€400€400*
Amsterdam AMS599,3571,101 km€250€250
London LHR579,3721,469 km€250£220
Paris CDG539,2321,342 km€250€250
Frankfurt FRA527,543897 km€250€250
Copenhagen CPH461,356666 km€250€250
London LTN459,1081,455 km€250£220
Vienna VIE418,941549 km€250€250
Rome FCO408,7131,326 km€250€250
Munich MUC395,144777 km€250€250
Istanbul IST382,0701,346 km€250€250*
Barcelona BCN370,5221,870 km€400€400
Zurich ZRH366,0211,031 km€250€250
Budapest BUD339,224541 km€250€250
Kraków KRK333,855246 km€250€250
Wrocław WRO291,249306 km€250€250
Vilnius VNO288,203396 km€250€250
Gdańsk GDN285,528297 km€250€250
Brussels BRU278,6231,146 km€250€250
Athens ATH269,5981,599 km€400€400
Madrid MAD269,5272,270 km€400€400
Bucharest OTP268,893925 km€250€250
Milan BGY235,2971,093 km€250€250
Prague PRG232,719521 km€250€250
Alicante ALC227,9912,270 km€400€400
Oslo OSL214,5751,079 km€250€250
Rzeszów RZE206,199240 km€250€250
Tallinn TLL205,171841 km€250€250
Palma de Mallorca PMI205,0741,979 km€400€400
Larnaca LCA202,8322,169 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 Chopin (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, 100,055 flights arrived at WAW; 3,824 of them were held back this way, 1,490 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.61 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity55%
  • weather41%
  • special event2%
  • other1%
  • airspace management0%
  • ATC capacity0%

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: 20 October 2025 – 3,519 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 23 October 2025 – 3,415 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity; 26 September 2025 – 3,142 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 77,761 arrivals, 0.43 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly aerodrome capacity (68%) and weather (32%).

Check what happened at WAW on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (41% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (1%) 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 Warsaw Chopin Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 100,055 arrivals at WAW in 2025; 3,824 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 1,490 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (55%); weather accounted for 41%.
  • The worst day was 20 October 2025, with 3,519 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.

    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%)
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    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 Warsaw Chopin Airport?

    Yes. WAW 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 Warsaw Chopin 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.