More than 60,000 flights departing from EU airports between June and August 2024 were disrupted to the extent of qualifying for compensation under the EU261 regulation, according to data from claims management company Skycop.
With a conservative estimate of 130 passengers per affected flight and a minimum compensation of €250, this translates to airlines owing travelers €2 billion in compensation this summer alone. However, only around one-third of this amount is typically claimed by affected passengers.
Skycop’s data indicates that over 3.2 million flights departed from EU airports this summer. Thus, the 60,000 significantly delayed or canceled flights represent nearly 2% of all departures.
As the largest aviation markets, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France saw the highest numbers of disrupted flights, ranging from 7,000 to 13,000, with other countries lagging far behind. However, the percentage of disrupted flights varied significantly across these markets.
In Germany, over 2.5% of departing flights were disrupted, while Italy, France, and the Netherlands saw rates slightly below 2%. Among large travel markets, Spain had a disruption rate of only 1.5%.
Luxembourg, Hungary, and Romania had the highest disruption rates this summer, with around 3% of all flights affected, while Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania stood out as the only countries with less than 1% of significantly delayed or canceled flights.
The EU average for disrupted flights this summer slightly exceeded last year’s 1.8%, though it remained below the 2.5% share seen during the summer of 2022.
According to Skycop’s lawyer Nerijus Zaleckas, airlines continue to make minimal efforts to inform passengers about their compensation entitlements, nor do they offer it voluntarily. As a result, passengers must often navigate complex processes on airline websites or turn to claims management companies for assistance.
“There is no precise data on the percentage of passengers who claim compensation, but from industry experience, we estimate that only up to a third of affected travelers pursue claims. This means that this summer alone, Europeans may leave hundreds of millions of euros, rightfully owed to them, unclaimed. I urge travelers to exercise their rights: the EU261 regulation was created to compensate passengers for inconveniences and to encourage airlines to improve performance,” says Zaleckas.
Under the EU261 regulation, compensation for significant delays applies to departures from EU airports (regardless of the airline’s country of origin) and to arrivals at EU airports on EU-registered airlines. Passengers are entitled to compensation ranging from €250 to €600, depending on the flight distance, for delays exceeding three hours. Compensation is also available for canceled flights, unexpected transportation or accommodation expenses, lost baggage, and other qualifying scenarios.
Skycop assesses the share of flights eligible for compensation using its proprietary data alongside public and non-public market analytics. The company emphasizes that many of the punctuality or delay statistics found online include even minor delays, which do not meet the compensation threshold of three hours.
Skycop is a major European claims management company founded in 2017.