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Flight compensation in Portugal: delays, cancellations and how to claim

By passengers on routes within Europe in Eurostat’s 2024 data, Portugal’s busiest airports were Lisbon, Porto and Faro, followed by Funchal on Madeira and Ponta Delgada in the Azores. TAP Air Portugal, the national airline, has its hubs in Lisbon and Porto. EU261 covers every departure from Portugal, whatever the airline, and flights to Portugal from outside the EU, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland when an airline licensed in one of those countries operates them.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: How we write our guides

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In short: Every flight departing from Portugal is covered by EU261, whatever the airline: €250–€600 per passenger for a delay of 3 hours or more at arrival, a cancellation with less than 14 days’ notice or denied boarding – unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. Flights into Portugal from outside the EU are covered only on EU airlines. Complain to the airline first, then to Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil (ANAC) or an ADR body, and if needed go to court.

Which flights are covered

Your flightRulesWhich airlines
From Portugal to anywhereEU261Any airline
From another EU/EEA country or Switzerland to PortugalEU261Any airline
From the UK to PortugalUK261 (EU261 too on an EU airline)Any airline
From outside Europe to PortugalEU261EU airlines only

Whatever the cause, from 2 hours’ delay the airline must also provide meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight; after a cancellation or a 5-hour delay you can choose a refund. Care and refunds.

Check your flight from Portugal

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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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How much: example routes from Portugal

Compensation per passenger for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation on the busiest international routes (Eurostat 2024):

RouteDistanceOutboundReturn
Lisbon – Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas513 km€250€250
Lisbon – Paris Orly1,438 km€250€250
Lisbon – Barcelona El Prat994 km€250€250
Porto – Paris Orly1,200 km€250€250
Lisbon – Amsterdam Schiphol1,846 km€400€400
Porto – Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas438 km€250€250
Porto – Geneva1,309 km€250€250
Lisbon – Frankfurt1,873 km€400€400
Lisbon – Geneva1,496 km€250€250
Porto – Barcelona El Prat899 km€250€250

How to claim in Portugal

  1. Claim from the airline in writing – its online form or a letter (complaint letter generator). Keep your booking, boarding pass and receipts.
  2. National enforcement body: Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil (ANAC) – ANAC supervises airlines but does not decide individual compensation or refunds; it points passengers to ADR and the European Consumer Centre. A complaint to ANAC can be made up to 3 years from the date of the flight. It deals with flights departing from Portugal, and flights arriving there from outside the EU.
  3. Alternative dispute resolution: Consumer dispute arbitration centres (for example the Lisbon centre, CACCL, and the national centre, CNIACC). Under the Consumer Protection Law (Law 24/96, art. 14(2)), low-value consumer disputes go to arbitration if the consumer chooses it, so the airline cannot refuse, and the result is a binding arbitral award. The Lisbon centre publishes EU261 awards against airlines.
  4. Court: the local court for the departure or arrival airport, or – for cross-border cases – the European Small Claims Procedure.

Prefer not to do it yourself? A claims company does the work for a share of the compensation – see claim companies compared.

Airlines from Portugal

Customer service: TAP Air Portugal.

Airports in Portugal

Delay causes, busiest routes and seasonal patterns: flights to Portugal · European delay statistics.

Strikes in Portugal

  • 2026-12-19–2026-12-23: easyJet cabin crew based in Portugal (SNPVAC) – Lisbon, Porto, Faro (announced)

Air transport and airports are essential services under Portuguese labour law. Unions must give 10 working days’ notice (instead of the usual 5), filed with DGERT, so strikes affecting flights are usually public two weeks or more ahead. A minimum service must be maintained, agreed between union and employer or, failing that, set by the authorities or an arbitration panel; it protects essential connections, not every holiday flight. Most Portuguese flight strikes are by airline crews, which usually means compensation is due.

Strike days at Portugal’s airports since 2024

EUROCONTROL attributes every arrival flow restriction to a cause. These are the days on which restrictions at Portugal’s airports were put down to industrial action, from January 2024 to 30 September 2026 – 1 in 2025, 2 in 2026.

DateATC strike delay (min)Other strike delay (min)Airports
3 June 20261,944–FAO
2 June 202660–OPO
11 December 2025–41FAO

Only restrictions on arriving flights at the airports themselves are counted; strikes by air traffic controllers elsewhere (for example in France, affecting overflights) and by airline staff do not appear here. A strike by air traffic controllers or airport staff is usually an extraordinary circumstance; a strike by the airline’s own staff is not. Source: EUROCONTROL. Check a specific day: delay cause checker.

Good to know

  • Madeira and the Azores are outermost regions of the EU, so flights from Funchal, Porto Santo or Ponta Delgada are covered by EU261 just like flights from Lisbon.
  • Strikes by an airline’s own Portugal-based cabin crew (such as easyJet’s crew strike of 2–6 October 2026) are not extraordinary circumstances: if your flight is cancelled at short notice or arrives 3+ hours late, compensation is usually due.
  • In EUROCONTROL’s 2025 data Lisbon and Porto had Portugal’s highest average arrival flow-control delays, mostly weather-related, while Faro had almost none.
  • Flights between Portugal and the UK or Ireland cross French-controlled airspace, so French air traffic control strikes can disrupt them too.

Frequently asked questions

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight in Portugal?

Under EU261, €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500–3,500 km (and for every flight within the EU over 1,500 km) and €600 for longer flights (€300 if a long-haul flight arrives 3–4 hours late), per passenger, if you arrive 3 hours or more late and the airline cannot prove extraordinary circumstances. It does not matter where you live – only where you flew from, where to, and with which airline.

Where do I complain in Portugal if the airline refuses to pay?

To Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil (ANAC), the national enforcement body for Portugal (ANAC supervises airlines but does not decide individual compensation or refunds; it points passengers to ADR and the European Consumer Centre. A complaint to ANAC can be made up to 3 years from the date of the flight). It handles complaints about flights departing from Portugal and flights arriving there from outside the EU. Alternative dispute resolution: Consumer dispute arbitration centres (for example the Lisbon centre, CACCL, and the national centre, CNIACC). Under the Consumer Protection Law (Law 24/96, art. 14(2)), low-value consumer disputes go to arbitration if the consumer chooses it, so the airline cannot refuse, and the result is a binding arbitral award. The Lisbon centre publishes EU261 awards against airlines.

How long do I have to claim in Portugal?

The time limit depends on which country’s courts hear the claim, and we have not found an authoritative statement of the period for Portugal. Claim as soon as you can, and check with Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil (ANAC) or the European Consumer Centre. See time limits by country.

I live in Portugal but my flight left from another country. Where can I claim?

Your rights depend on the flight, not on where you live. For a flight between two EU countries you can sue in the courts for the place of departure or the place of arrival (CJEU C-204/08 Rehder); for cross-border cases the European Small Claims Procedure works by post and online. The enforcement body to complain to is the one in the country where the incident happened.

Information only, not legal advice. Enforcement bodies and dispute schemes as listed by the European Commission, checked November 2026.

Sources

  1. National enforcement bodies under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 13 October 2026) – European Commission
  2. Como apresentar uma reclamação – ANAC
  3. Reclamar em caso de recusa, cancelamento ou atraso no voo – gov.pt (Portuguese government)
  4. Centro de Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo de Lisboa – CACCL
  5. Sentença 107/2025 (air transport, EU261) – citing art. 14(2) Lei 24/96 – CACCL
  6. Strike notices (avisos prévios de greve) – DGERT
  7. Tripulantes da easyJet em greve de 2 a 6 de outubro e de 19 a 23 de dezembro (17 September 2026) – RTP / Lusa
  8. Greve na easyJet com total adesão e cancelamentos podem chegar a 90% (3 October 2026) – DNoticias
  9. Judgment C-28/20 Airhelp v SAS (23 March 2021) – strikes by the airline’s own staff – Court of Justice of the EU
  10. Ryanair cancels 170 flights due to French ATC strike (3 July 2025) – Ryanair Holdings (SEC filing)
  11. Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Article 349 (outermost regions: Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira, French overseas regions) – EUR-Lex
  12. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – full text (Article 3: scope; recital 15: air traffic management decisions) – EUR-Lex
  13. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it applies in the UK (UK261) – Article 3, scope – legislation.gov.uk
  14. UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 (flights by destination from UK airports) – UK Civil Aviation Authority
  15. Airport arrival ATFM (flow-control) delay data, 2024–2025 – EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Unit
  16. Air passenger transport by reporting airport (avia_par), 2024 – Eurostat
  17. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
  18. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
  19. C-204/08 Rehder v Air Baltic (jurisdiction: place of departure or arrival) – EUR-Lex

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