EU Flight Delay Rules Give Airlines 30 Days to Pay or Explain From October 2027, as a Claims Firm Ranks TAP Among the Fastest Payers and SATA the Slowest

A revision of the EU's air passenger rules, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, entered into force on Thursday, 22 October, twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal. Nothing changes at the airport yet: the new rules apply from 23 October 2027, and until then Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 governs delayed and cancelled flights as before. The same day, ECO reported figures from AirAdvisor, a company that files compensation claims for passengers in return for a fee, putting TAP Air Portugal among the fastest airlines to pay and SATA's Azores Airlines the slowest.

The rules that apply today

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 still governs flights. It sets fixed compensation of 250 euros for flights of up to 1,500 km, 400 euros for longer flights within the EU and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, and 600 euros for anything further. The EU's Your Europe service says compensation is also due when you reach your final destination three hours or more late. Nothing is owed if the airline shows the cause was an extraordinary circumstance that all reasonable measures could not have avoided. The regulation sets no deadline for an airline to pay that compensation; it only requires a ticket refund, if you choose one, within seven days.

What changes from October 2027

The revised regulation, published on 2 October, keeps the 250, 400 and 600 euro amounts and the three-hour threshold. Passengers will have nine months from the date of departure to claim. The airline must acknowledge the claim and, within 30 calendar days, either pay or explain why it will not. An airline relying on extraordinary circumstances will have to name the event, normally from a new list annexed to the law, and explain how it caused the disruption and why it could not be avoided. The list includes severe weather, air traffic control restrictions and strikes at ground handlers that airlines do not choose, if beyond the control of the airline or its group.

Within 96 hours of the end of the journey, airlines must tell passengers who may be owed money how to claim. If an airline offers no rerouting within three hours, passengers may book their own and claim back up to four times the ticket price within 14 days. Carriers may no longer refuse a return flight because the outbound leg was not used, and fares including a piece of hand baggage must be shown by default before booking.

What the claims firm says

According to ECO, AirAdvisor looked at 68,311 passenger claims filed between January and June 2026 against 59 airlines in 31 countries. TAP, Iberia and Vueling came out fastest at 10 days on average, with British Airways and Wizz Air at 11. SATA/Azores Airlines was slowest, at 130 days. These are the company's own figures, drawn from its own caseload, and its method is unpublished.

How to complain in Portugal

The Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil (National Civil Aviation Authority, ANAC) enforces the regulation for flights leaving Portuguese airports and for flights from outside the EU into Portugal on EU airlines. Complain to the airline first. If it has not answered within six weeks, or you are not satisfied with the reply, ANAC takes complaints through its online form, attaching your complaint, the airline's reply and the booking. ANAC can fine airlines but says it cannot order compensation to be paid, so passengers may still need the courts or an alternative dispute resolution body. Airlines and airports must also keep the Livro de Reclamações (complaints book), which ANAC oversees. For baggage and other disputes, ANAC points passengers to the Centro Europeu do Consumidor (European Consumer Centre).

Passengers caught by this month's SATA Handling strike can check which flights SATA must still run and how to rebook for free, and our easyJet strike report covers what cancelled passengers are owed.