Delayed or cancelled flight from Gran Canaria
For anyone whose flight out of Gran Canaria is late, cancelled or overbooked, from a TUI flight to Gatwick to an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin or a Binter hop to Tenerife. Here is what the airline owes you while you wait, what you can claim, and how.
The short answer
Gran Canaria is part of the EU, so every flight from it is covered by EU261, whatever the airline. If you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late, or your flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, you are owed €400 per passenger on flights to the UK, Ireland and most of mainland Spain, which are over 1,500 km (except Seville and Málaga, just under, at €250), or €250 on flights of 1,500 km or less such as the other islands, Lisbon and Dakar, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
Compensation calculator
What is your flight worth?
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A guide, not legal advice. The amount is per passenger, on top of the meals, drinks and hotel the airline owes you while you wait.
Stuck at Gran Canaria Airport right now?
On a flight to the UK, Ireland or most of mainland Spain the airline must give you meals and drinks, and two free calls or emails, once the delay reaches 3 hours (2 hours on an island hop), and a hotel with transport to it if you are moved to the next day. At 5 hours you can choose a refund instead of flying. This holds whatever the cause, so if nothing is offered, buy what is reasonable and keep every receipt.
Wait somewhere calm
A lounge pass buys a seat, food, drinks and Wi-Fi away from the crowds at the gate.
Galdós VIP Lounge, Gran Canaria AirportIf your flight has gone
Every way back into Gran Canaria, timed and priced.
Getting into Gran Canaria
Compensation for flights from Gran Canaria Airport
For a flight leaving here on any airline that lands 3 hours or more late, unless the cause was extraordinary. Distances are great-circle, as the rules measure them.
| To | Distance | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Tenerife North TFN | 112 km | €250 |
| Tenerife South TFS | 117 km | €250 |
| Fuerteventura FUE | 160 km | €250 |
| Lanzarote ACE | 207 km | €250 |
| Funchal (Madeira) FNC | 546 km | €250 |
| Lisbon LIS | 1,338 km | €250 |
| Dakar DSS | 1,485 km | €250 |
| Madrid MAD | 1,766 km | €400 |
| Barcelona BCN | 2,174 km | €400 |
| Cork ORK | 2,720 km | €400 |
| Shannon SNN | 2,806 km | €400 |
| Bristol BRS | 2,815 km | €400 |
| London Gatwick LGW | 2,879 km | €400 |
| Dublin DUB | 2,932 km | €400 |
| London Luton LTN | 2,941 km | €400 |
| Birmingham BHX | 2,951 km | €400 |
| London Stansted STN | 2,964 km | €400 |
| East Midlands EMA | 3,001 km | €400 |
| Manchester MAN | 3,024 km | €400 |
| Belfast International BFS | 3,063 km | €400 |
| Amsterdam AMS | 3,183 km | €400 |
| Newcastle NCL | 3,210 km | €400 |
| Glasgow GLA | 3,227 km | €400 |
| Edinburgh EDI | 3,259 km | €400 |
What delays flights at Gran Canaria
Wind more than dust. AEMET, Spain's weather agency, says wind shear, driven by the island's mountains and at its worst when storms come in from the south-west, has the greatest impact here and causes the most abandoned landings. Calima, the Saharan dust, cut visibility on four or five days a year in AEMET's 2013 to 2017 data, half of them in December, and AEMET found it had not caused a single abandoned landing. Weather can be an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation may not be due, but the airline must still look after you.
Strikes: Spain's Ministry of Transport set minimum services for ground-handling strikes that reached Gran Canaria: Menzies on August 2025 weekends, Azul Handling, which handles Ryanair group flights, from 1 October 2025, and Groundforce, with stoppages on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 27 March 2026. Strikes by air traffic controllers or airport staff may be extraordinary and strikes by the airline's own staff are not; handling companies working for an airline are not addressed directly, so make the claim and let the airline prove its case. An airline crew strike or an ordinary technical fault pays.
Your rights while you wait here
Ask at the gate or your airline's desk on Floor 1, the check-in and departures level, for meal vouchers, and for a new flight if you are cancelled. The airport is open 24 hours, Deli&Cia airside serves around the clock, and the pharmacy on Floor 1 before security opens 06:00 to 19:30 on weekdays and 08:00 to 20:00 at weekends.
- When compensation is due
- You arrive 3 hours or more late at your final destination, your flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice and no close alternative, or you are bumped against your will
- Gran Canaria to the UK or Ireland
- €400 (all 2,700 to 3,300 km)
- Islands, Madeira, Lisbon, Dakar
- €250
- Unless
- The airline proves extraordinary circumstances that all reasonable measures could not have avoided
- Meals and drinks
- From 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km; from 3 hours on longer flights within the EU and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km
- Calls or emails
- Two, free, at the same point
- Hotel and transport to it
- When the new departure is the next day or later
- Refund instead of flying
- Your choice once the delay reaches 5 hours
- Cancelled
- Your choice of a refund or a new flight, plus meals and, if needed, a hotel
- In bad weather or a strike
- All of the above still applies
How to claim
Claiming yourself costs nothing. Send the claim to the airline that operated the flight, using its own claim form, with your booking reference and the times you actually arrived. If it refuses, or has not answered after a month, complain to AESA, Spain's aviation safety agency, which is also the official dispute body for air passengers: for flights from 2 June 2023 its decision binds the airline, and you must file within one year of your claim to the airline. Spanish law's general limit for personal claims is 5 years.
Flying home to the UK on a UK or EU airline, your flight is also covered by the UK rules, and if you go to court in England, Wales or Northern Ireland the limit is 6 years (5 in Scotland). You can be paid only once for the same disruption, so claim under the EU rules that apply to a flight from Spain.
Or hand it to AirHelp, which works on a no win, no fee basis: if it wins, it keeps 35% of the compensation including VAT, plus a further 15% if it has to go to court; if it does not win, you pay nothing. Keep your booking reference and boarding pass, screenshots of the delay or cancellation messages, the reason the airline gave you, and receipts for anything you bought while you waited.
New EU rules, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, apply from 23 October 2027; for any flight before then, today's rules on this page apply.
Delayed or cancelled? Get what you are owed
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Good questions about Gran Canaria Airport
How much compensation for a delayed flight from Gran Canaria?
€400 per passenger on flights to the UK, Ireland and most of mainland Spain, and €250 on flights of 1,500 km or less, if you arrive 3 hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
My flight from Gran Canaria to Gatwick was cancelled the day before. What am I owed?
Your choice of a refund or a new flight, meals and a hotel while you wait, and €400 each, as Gatwick is 2,879 km away, unless you were offered a close alternative or the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
Is calima an extraordinary circumstance?
It can be, case by case, if it makes a flight unsafe. The airline must still give you meals, drinks and a hotel if you are moved to the next day.
Is a ground-handling strike an extraordinary circumstance?
It is not settled. Strikes by airport staff can be extraordinary and strikes by the airline's own staff are not; a handling company working for the airline sits between the two, so claim and let the airline prove it.
Do I get compensation on a flight from Gran Canaria to Tenerife?
Yes, inter-island flights are covered: €250 if you arrive 3 hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
How long do I have to claim?
Spanish law's general limit is 5 years, and in the English courts it is 6 years (5 in Scotland). Claim from the airline first; Spain's AESA takes complaints within one year of your claim to the airline.
If you claim through our AirHelp links we may earn a commission. It never changes what we write.