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Air Passenger Rights When Flying to or from Portugal

Flight delays, cancellations, denied boarding, EU261 compensation of 250 to 600 euros, and how to claim through the aviation regulator ANAC.

Air Passenger Rights When Flying to or from Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • Anyone whose flight from a Portuguese airport was delayed, cancelled, or overbooked, on any airline.
  • Anyone flying into Portugal from outside the EU on an EU airline.

Not for you if: your problem was with a train. Read Getting around Portugal by Train.

Updated September 2026. The EU adopted a reform of these rules in July 2026. It will apply about a year after publication, so today's rules still apply.

EU law gives you rights when a flight goes wrong. If you arrive three or more hours late, your flight is cancelled at short notice, or you are bumped, you may get €250, €400, or €600 in cash. You also get meals and a hotel while you wait, and a refund or new flight. Claiming costs nothing. Claim from the airline first. If it does not answer within six weeks, complain free to Portugal's aviation regulator, ANAC, within three years of the flight.

Which flights are covered

The EU rules cover:

  • every flight leaving an EU airport, on any airline (so every flight from Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, or the Azores)
  • flights into the EU from outside it, but only on an EU airline

So New York to Lisbon on an EU airline is covered. The same route on a US airline is not. Flights from Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland follow the same rules.

How much compensation you can get

This applies if you reach your final destination three hours late or more, your flight is cancelled at short notice, or you are denied boarding against your will.

Flight distanceCompensation
Up to 1,500 km€250
Within the EU over 1,500 km, and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km€400
Over 3,500 km, between an EU and a non-EU airport€600

The amount is per passenger. It does not depend on the ticket price, and it comes on top of any refund.

The airline can halve the payment if it reroutes you and you arrive only slightly late. The limit is 2, 3, or 4 hours after the original arrival time, depending on distance.

Lisbon to Madrid is under 1,500 km, so €250. Lisbon to Berlin is an EU flight over 1,500 km, so €400. Lisbon to New York is over 3,500 km, so €600.

When the airline does not have to pay

The airline owes no compensation if "extraordinary circumstances" caused the problem and could not have been avoided. Examples are:

  • bad weather
  • air traffic control decisions
  • political instability
  • security risks
  • strikes by people outside the airline, such as air traffic controllers

Most technical faults from maintenance problems do not count. Nor does a strike by the airline's own staff.

Even when no compensation is due, the airline must still give you care and a refund or new flight.

Cancellations: how notice changes things

If the airline cancels, compensation depends on how much notice you got.

  • 14 days or more: no compensation.
  • 7 to 14 days: no compensation if you are offered a flight leaving no more than 2 hours earlier and arriving no more than 4 hours later.
  • Less than 7 days: no compensation if you are offered a flight leaving no more than 1 hour earlier and arriving no more than 2 hours later.

Whatever the notice, you can choose a full refund or a new flight.

Your right to care while you wait

This applies whatever caused the delay, including bad weather. The airline must give you meals and drinks once you have waited:

  • 2 hours, for flights up to 1,500 km
  • 3 hours, for EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km
  • 4 hours, for all longer flights

You also get two phone calls or emails. If you must stay overnight, the airline pays for a hotel and transport to it.

If the airline gives you nothing, buy what is reasonable and keep every receipt. You can claim the cost back.

Refund or new flight

This applies to cancellations, denied boarding, and delays of five hours or more. You choose one of:

  • a full refund within seven days, plus a flight back to your starting point if you were mid-journey
  • a new flight to your destination as soon as possible
  • a new flight later, at a date that suits you

The airline must refund in money. It can only give you a voucher if you agree to it.

How to claim

  1. Collect your evidence. Keep your booking, boarding pass, the airline's messages, and receipts for food, hotels, and transport.
  2. Write to the airline that operated the flight. Use its claim form or email. Say what happened and what you want: compensation, a refund, and expenses. Mention the EU air passenger rights rules.
  3. Wait up to six weeks. If the airline does not reply, or you disagree with its answer, go to step 4.
  4. Complain to ANAC. Use the complaint form (formulário de reclamação) on ANAC's website. Attach your claim to the airline, its reply, and your booking. The form works in Portuguese or English. For other languages, email [email protected]. You can also post it to ANAC, Rua B, Edifício 4, Aeroporto Humberto Delgado, 1749-034 Lisboa.

You must complain to ANAC within three years of the flight date. It is free.

ANAC's form is only for delays, cancellations, denied boarding, and downgrades. For baggage, schedule changes more than 14 days ahead, or ticketing problems, complain to the airline first. If that fails, contact the European Consumer Centre.

If the airline still refuses to pay

ANAC can investigate airlines and fine them. It cannot order the airline to pay you. If the airline still refuses, you have three options.

Lost, delayed, or damaged baggage

Baggage falls under a separate international treaty, the Montreal Convention, not the EU delay rules.

  1. Report the problem at the airline's baggage desk before you leave the airport. Get a written report.
  2. For damaged bags, write to the airline within 7 days.
  3. For delayed bags, write within 21 days of getting them back.
  4. Keep receipts for essentials you had to buy.

Since 28 December 2024, the airline's liability is capped at 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger. That is about €1,800 at September 2026 exchange rates. The value changes daily.

What changes with the 2026 reform

The EU agreed a reform in June 2026. The European Parliament approved it on 2 July 2026 and the Council on 13 July 2026. It applies 12 months and 20 days after publication in the EU's Official Journal. That means late 2027 at the earliest.

Under the new rules, as announced by the EU institutions:

  • The three-hour delay threshold and the €250, €400, and €600 amounts stay.
  • One personal item travels free. Fares must be shown with hand luggage included from the start of booking.
  • Airlines must send claim instructions within four days (96 hours). They must pay or explain a refusal within 30 days.
  • You will have nine months to file a claim with the airline.
  • Airlines cannot refuse you boarding on a return flight because you missed the outbound one.
  • Boarding passes must be available digitally without forcing you to use an app.
  • Children under 14 sit next to an accompanying adult at no extra cost.
  • Care during delays becomes standard: refreshments every two hours and a meal after three hours.

Until the reform applies, the rules in this guide are the ones that count.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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