Air passenger rights · Spain

Flight delayed or cancelled?
You may be owed €250–600.

EU Regulation EC261/2004 protects you on any flight departing an EU airport, or arriving in the EU on an EU airline. Check your eligibility, then follow the steps to claim in Spain.

DIRECT ANSWER

A 3-hour-plus arrival delay, a cancellation with less than 14 days’ notice, or denied boarding (overbooking) entitle you to a flat €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance — regardless of ticket price. Unless “extraordinary circumstances” apply (extreme weather, air-traffic-control strike, security). Meals and accommodation are owed either way.

Reviewed by the FFCheck editors · June 2026

What happened?

01 / 02

Is the airline claiming extraordinary circumstances (weather, ATC strike)?

02 / 02

How much can you claim?

Per passenger · Art. 7

€250

per passenger · Art. 7(1)(a)

e.g. London · Paris · Berlin

Most common

€400

per passenger · Art. 7(1)(b)

e.g. Madrid · Rome · Athens

€600

per passenger · Art. 7(1)(c)

e.g. New York · Dubai · Bangkok

Family of 4 on a delayed flight to Spain: €1,600 owed. To the US: €2,400. The generated PDF is a flat €19 — rivals take 25–35% of your payout.

What you actually get

A sample letter — the kind that gets paid out.

claim-letter.pdf

To: <Airline> Attn: Customer Service / Compensation (Reg. 261/2004) Re: Compensation claim under EU 261/2004 — flight XX1234 on 14-03-2026 Dear Sir or Madam, I hereby formally submit a claim for compensation under EU 261/2004. Flight details: Flight number: XX1234 Date: 14-03-2026 Route: Amsterdam (AMS) -> Madrid (MAD) Passengers: 2 Compensation owed: €400 per passenger x 2 = €800. Per Art. 7(1)(b) (intra-EU flight, 1500-3500 km). Under Art. 7 and the Court of Justice ruling in Sturgeon (C-402/07 & C-432/07, 19 Nov 2009), a 3-hour-plus arrival delay entitles me to this compensation. If you refuse citing "extraordinary circumstances" (Art. 5(3)), I request reasoned written evidence per Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07). Technical faults, staffing and operational decisions do not qualify under settled case law. I request payment within fourteen (14) days of receipt. Failing that, I reserve the right to: (1) complain to the national enforcement body; (2) refer the dispute to the competent consumer mediation body; (3) bring proceedings before the competent court, claiming statutory interest and costs. Kind regards, [Your name]

Your real letter is auto-filled with your details from the form; legal articles and case law are included by default. Reading it and writing your own is completely free.

Done for you

Flight delayed or cancelled? Claim €250–€600

Everything above is free to read and do yourself. Want it auto-filled with your flight and ready to send? Generate the PDF.

Generate my claim PDF — €19free to read · €19 to auto-generate

You flew the flight. They take ~30%.

AirHelp, Flightright, EUclaim and Compensair all start “free”, then keep 25–35% of what they recover. Our PDF is a flat €19 — the rest is yours.

Service	Their cut	You keep (€400)	Family (€1,600)
FFCheck You win	€19 flat	€381	€1,581
AirHelp	35% commission	€260	€1,040
Flightright	30% commission	€280	€1,120
EUclaim	27% commission	€292	€1,168
Compensair	25% commission	€300	€1,200

Competitor rates are their own published fees on the date of this page; we update on changes. Shown for a €400 claim and a €1,600 family-of-4 claim. · 06/2026

Your data

If the service is “free”, you’re the product.

Commission services need a signed mandate, ID copy, boarding pass, full booking and bank details — their real product is the data. We only need what it takes to write your letter.

● What we collect

Your name (on the letter), email (PDF delivery), flight details, and a Stripe payment token — we never see your card. No marketing list, no data sale, ever.

● What they collect

A signed legal mandate, ID/passport copy, boarding pass + booking PNR, email, phone, sometimes home address and bank IBAN (they receive your payout).

AI vs ours

Why a generic ChatGPT letter gets ignored.

A generic prompt gives you “Dear airline, please pay €400.” A real claim letter cites the regulation and the ECJ case law, and pre-empts the “extraordinary circumstances” excuse — refined over hundreds of real claims.

● What ChatGPT typically writes

“Under EU regulations, I am entitled to compensation”
“I look forward to your prompt response”
“Please refund my €400”
No specific citations, no case law, no deadline, no escalation.

● What our letter cites

EU 261/2004 Art. 5 & 7 — exact articles and tiers
Sturgeon (C-402/07 & C-432/07) — 3-hour delay = cancellation
Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07) — tech faults ≠ “extraordinary”
14-day demand → enforcement body → disputes board → court, with statutory interest.

How it works

Tell us what happened
Flight number, route, what went wrong. Two minutes — most people finish in under three.
Complete checkout
Card, Apple Pay or local methods. Stripe-secured. The PDF arrives the moment you pay.
Send it to your airline
Attach the PDF or paste it into a fresh email. A formal letter gets an EC261 case file opened — an email doesn’t.

Learn before you claim

Everything we cite — free to read.

Plain-language explainers, step-by-step protocols, landmark ECJ case law and head-to-head comparisons with the commission services. Everything in our letters, at no charge.

Explainers9

EC261, the Sturgeon ruling, a PIR, a codeshare — plain-language concepts with the exact legal reference.

Your rights6

Article-by-article: Art. 4 denied boarding, Art. 5 cancellation, Art. 7 compensation, Art. 8 reimbursement, Art. 9 care.

What now?8

Step-by-step protocols: flight delayed, baggage lost, denied at the gate, missed connection, cancelled under 14 days.

Who to contact5

Which body handles your complaint — your national enforcement body, consumer disputes board and the EU Consumer Centre.

Compare6

FFCheck vs AirHelp, Flightright, EUclaim, Compensair — what you actually keep after their commission.

Case law7

Landmark ECJ rulings: Sturgeon, Wallentin-Hermann, Folkerts, Nelson, Van der Lans, McDonagh, Krüsemann.

Amounts6

How much: by distance (€250/€400/€600), baggage (~€1,500 Montreal), train (25–100%), package tour (% reduction).

Did it work? · community-measured

The official answer is above. This is what actually happened.

Anonymous outcome reports from people who sent a claim — reviewed by us before they count. Stats unlock at 5 approved reports and always show their sample size.

📊 Published data · EU-wide 07/2026

Independent published figures, so you never stare at an empty box — our own community numbers grow next to them. Sources below.

Direct claims first rejected or contested by airlines≈50–70%

Airline payout rate once a claim reaches court≈98%

Typical wait when the airline cooperates3–12 wk

Typical wait when it goes to court4–18 mo

Eligible passengers who never claim at all≈45%

Sources

Every rate here is the AIRLINE's payout rate — the share of claims that end in the airline paying. It is never a FFCheck sales number.

🇪🇺 All of Europe

Community saysCollecting

Most common outcome—

Airline payout rate—

Average payout—

Average waiting time—

0 reports so far — be the first. Sixty seconds, fully anonymous.

✍️ Report your outcome (anonymous, 60 seconds)

How to claim in Spain

1. Claim from the airline
Write to the airline directly (email or letter), citing Regulation EC261/2004. Keep proof — boarding pass, booking, screenshots. The airline has 30 days to reply.
2. Claim to AESA (binding decision)
If it doesn’t reply within 30 days or rejects you, file a claim with the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). For flights from 2 June 2023, AESA issues a decision within 90 days that is binding on the airline. It’s free.
3. Court (last resort)
You can also go to court to enforce payment. The limitation period in Spain is 5 years from the flight date (Supreme Court, art. 1964 of the Civil Code).

Your rights, no matter what

Even with extraordinary circumstances, beyond a certain wait the airline must provide: meals and drinks, two means of communication, and accommodation + transfers if you need to stay overnight. This right to care is separate from compensation.

FAQ

How much for which flight?

€250 up to 1,500 km; €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and all flights 1,500–3,500 km; €600 beyond 3,500 km outside the EU.

How long must the delay be?

From 3 hours at the final destination. This 3-hour threshold still applies in 2026 (the proposal to raise it to 4–6h was rejected).

What about weather or strikes?

“Extraordinary circumstances” (extreme weather, ATC strike, security) remove the flat compensation but not the care. A strike by the airline’s own staff usually doesn’t count.

How long do I have to claim?

In Spain the limitation period is 5 years from the flight date (Supreme Court). Don’t wait — gather your proof early.

Do I need a paid claim company?

No. The claim and AESA are free. Claim firms take 25–35%; you can do it all yourself for nothing.

Official sources

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