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Flights to Romania: delays, cancellations and your rights

By passengers on routes within Europe in Eurostat’s 2024 data, Romania’s busiest airports were Bucharest Henri Coandă (Otopeni), Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Timișoara. TAROM has its hub in Bucharest, where Wizz Air also has a base. EU261 covers every departure from Romania, whatever the airline, and flights to Romania 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: Flying to Romania from elsewhere in Europe, a delay of 3 hours or more is worth €250–€400 per passenger on typical routes (EU261, any airline); from the UK £350 under UK261. On the way home, EU261 covers every flight leaving Romania.

Your rights each way

DirectionRulesCovered airlines3h+ delay / late cancellation
Another EU/EEA country or Switzerland → RomaniaEU261any airline€250–€400
Romania → another EU/EEA country or SwitzerlandEU261any airline€250–€400
UK → RomaniaUK261any airline£350
Romania → UKEU261any airline€400
Outside Europe → RomaniaEU261only an EU airlineby distance, up to €600

Amounts are per passenger and depend on the great-circle distance between your airports – the ranges cover the busiest routes. Whatever the cause, from 2 hours’ delay the airline must provide meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – where EU261 or UK261 applies. Living in Romania or flying from there? See how to claim in Romania.

Check your flight to or from Romania

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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

Airports in Romania

AirportPassengers 2024*ATFM delay per arrival 2025Main cause
Bucharest Henri Coandă (OTP)13,671,7330.29 minaerodrome capacity (93%)
Cluj-Napoca (CLJ)2,950,578––
Iași (IAS)2,133,784––
Timișoara (TSR)1,210,252––
Suceava (SCV)697,618––
Sibiu (SBZ)535,547––
Bacău (BCM)483,069––
Craiova (CRA)399,345––
Târgu Mureș (TGM)195,329––
Oradea (OMR)144,687––
Brașov (GHV)51,442––
Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu (BBU)–0.00 min–

* Passengers on routes reported to Eurostat (both directions).

Routes from the UK to Romania

From the UK: in the CAA’s 2025 data the busiest Romanian destinations from UK airports were Bucharest Henri Coandă (Otopeni), Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Suceava, Craiova and Bacău. Flights departing from Romania are covered by EU261 whatever the airline; flights from the UK to Romania by UK261; flights from Romania to the UK by EU261.

Punctuality of the busiest routes in 2025, from UK Civil Aviation Authority data (departures from UK airports).

RouteFlightsOn time3h+ lateCancelled
London Luton – Bucharest2,73871.3%0.40%0.00%
London Stansted – Bucharest2,53374.8%0.24%0.94%
London Heathrow – Bucharest1,48775.4%0.07%0.47%
London Luton – Iași1,45486.1%0.75%0.27%
London Luton – Suceava1,29378.0%2.38%0.69%
London Luton – Cluj-Napoca1,26284.1%0.63%0.08%
London Luton – Bacău1,09072.7%1.64%0.46%
Birmingham – Bucharest1,03566.7%0.97%0.00%

Busiest European routes

Why flights to Romania are delayed

In 2025, air traffic flow restrictions held back arrivals at Romania’s airports by 0.27 minutes per flight on average (EUROCONTROL, 2 airports). The worst month was Jul.

Causes of air traffic flow delay (2025)

  • aerodrome capacity93%
  • other7%
  • special event0%

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

Weather and air traffic control restrictions are usually extraordinary circumstances – but the airline must show they caused your delay. Check what happened on your travel day.

Strikes

No strikes affecting flights in Romania are announced in our calendar at the moment.

Strike calendar

Where to complain

  1. The airline first – in writing, with your booking reference. Use our complaint letter generator.
  2. National enforcement body: National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) – Online complaint form in Romanian and English..
  3. From the UK: if you flew from a UK airport or with a UK airline, you can also use UK ADR, the CAA or the small claims court.

Tips for flying to Romania

  • Romania’s enforcement body is the consumer protection authority (ANPC), not the civil aviation authority – send EU261 complaints about flights from Romania there.
  • In EUROCONTROL’s 2025 data most arrival flow-control delay at Bucharest was attributed to airport capacity, peaking in July.
  • We found no Romanian ADR body specifically for airline disputes; for cross-border claims up to €5,000 the European Small Claims Procedure is available.

Frequently asked questions

Am I covered on a flight to Romania?

From anywhere in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, yes: EU261 covers every departing flight, whatever the airline – €250–€400 per passenger on typical routes if you arrive 3 hours or more late. From the UK, UK261 covers every departing flight (£350). From outside Europe you are covered only on an EU airline.

Am I covered on the flight home from Romania?

Romania applies EU261 to every departing flight, so you are covered with any airline (€250–€400 on typical routes).

Who enforces passenger rights in Romania?

National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) – Online complaint form in Romanian and English.. Complain to the airline first; if it rejects you or does not answer, you can turn to this body. All national enforcement bodies.

Are strikes covered?

It depends whose staff are on strike. Air traffic control or airport strikes are usually extraordinary circumstances; strikes by the airline’s own staff are not (CJEU C-28/20). See strikes and compensation.

Data: Eurostat 2024, EUROCONTROL, UK Civil Aviation Authority 2025. Information only, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. National enforcement bodies under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 13 October 2026) – European Commission
  2. Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 – European Small Claims Procedure (not applicable in Denmark) – EUR-Lex
  3. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – full text (Article 3: scope; recital 15: air traffic management decisions) – EUR-Lex
  4. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it applies in the UK (UK261) – Article 3, scope – legislation.gov.uk
  5. UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 (flights by destination from UK airports) – UK Civil Aviation Authority
  6. Airport arrival ATFM (flow-control) delay data, 2024–2025 – EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Unit
  7. Air passenger transport by reporting airport (avia_par), 2024 – Eurostat
  8. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
  9. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
  10. UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 – UK Civil Aviation Authority

We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.