Zürich Airport (ZRH): flight delays and compensation

Live at Zurich (ZRH) today

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About the airport

Zürich Airport (ZRH) serves Zurich, Switzerland. On the routes Eurostat reports, 22,826,861 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 21st-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid.

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 Zurich – 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.

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

Air traffic flow delays at Zurich (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, 133,877 flights arrived at ZRH; 19,525 of them were held back this way, 7,395 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 2.44 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

• weather48%
• other22%
• aerodrome capacity19%
• special event6%
• ATC staffing2%
• environmental issues1%

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 May 2025 – 13,287 minutes, mostly weather; 6 April 2025 – 8,351 minutes, mostly weather; 2 April 2025 – 6,691 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 105,079 arrivals, 2.63 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly other (36%) and weather (34%).

Check what happened at ZRH on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (48% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (3%) 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 Zürich Airport

• EUROCONTROL recorded 133,877 arrivals at ZRH in 2025; 19,525 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 7,395 of them by more than 15 minutes.
• The largest single cause of this flow delay was weather (48%).
• The worst day was 9 May 2025, with 13,287 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

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 Zürich Airport?

Yes. ZRH 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 Zürich 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

• Flight delay compensation
• Missed connection compensation
• National enforcement bodies and ADR
• All airports

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.