Delayed or cancelled flight from Palma de Mallorca
For anyone whose flight out of Palma is late, cancelled or overbooked, from an easyJet flight to Gatwick to a Ryanair flight to Dublin or a Eurowings flight to Düsseldorf. Here is what the airline owes you while you wait, what you can claim, and how.
The short answer
Every flight from Palma 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 €250 per passenger on flights of 1,500 km or less, which covers the London airports, Bristol and Birmingham, and €400 on longer ones such as Manchester, Newcastle, Scotland, Belfast and Dublin, 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 Palma de Mallorca Airport right now?
The airline must give you meals and drinks, and two free calls or emails, once the delay reaches 2 hours on flights of up to 1,500 km (London, Bristol, Birmingham, Germany) or 3 hours on longer ones (Manchester, Scotland, Dublin), 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.
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Getting into Mallorca
Compensation for flights from Palma de Mallorca 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona BCN | 202 km | €250 |
| Valencia VLC | 276 km | €250 |
| Madrid MAD | 547 km | €250 |
| Zurich ZRH | 996 km | €250 |
| Munich MUC | 1,216 km | €250 |
| Frankfurt FRA | 1,251 km | €250 |
| Brussels BRU | 1,269 km | €250 |
| Cologne CGN | 1,304 km | €250 |
| London Gatwick LGW | 1,309 km | €250 |
| Düsseldorf DUS | 1,342 km | €250 |
| London Heathrow LHR | 1,348 km | €250 |
| Bristol BRS | 1,382 km | €250 |
| London Stansted STN | 1,385 km | €250 |
| London Luton LTN | 1,391 km | €250 |
| Amsterdam AMS | 1,427 km | €250 |
| Birmingham BHX | 1,475 km | €250 |
| Manchester MAN | 1,581 km | €400 |
| Berlin BER | 1,646 km | €400 |
| Hamburg HAM | 1,659 km | €400 |
| Dublin DUB | 1,687 km | €400 |
| Newcastle NCL | 1,753 km | €400 |
| Belfast International BFS | 1,808 km | €400 |
| Edinburgh EDI | 1,878 km | €400 |
| Glasgow GLA | 1,890 km | €400 |
What delays flights at Palma
Volume and summer weather. Aena says Palma's traffic, 33.8 million passengers in 2025, is mostly international and peaks in the summer season. AEMET, Spain's weather agency, names four weather risks for the airport: the summer sea breeze, which forces changes of runway direction; wind shear, including from thunderstorms; turbulence when the north-west Mestral wind crosses the Tramuntana mountains; and fog, which in its night-time form strikes at dawn, when the departure banks are busiest, mostly from November to March. Weather can be an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation may not be due, but care is.
Strikes: Spain's Ministry of Transport set minimum services at Palma for ground-handling strikes by Azul Handling, which handles Ryanair group flights, from 1 October 2025, and by 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 in the check-in hall on Floor 2 for meal vouchers, and for a new flight if you are cancelled. UK flights leave from Module A, beyond passport control, where Soho Coffee is open 24 hours; Paul in the arrivals hall is too, and Aena's information desk is in the same hall on Floor 0.
- 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
- Palma to London, Bristol, Birmingham
- €250 (1,500 km or less)
- Palma to Manchester, Newcastle, Scotland, Belfast, Dublin
- €400
- 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 Palma de Mallorca Airport
How much compensation for a delayed flight from Palma?
€250 per passenger on flights of 1,500 km or less, including London, Bristol and Birmingham, and €400 on longer flights such as Manchester and Dublin, if you arrive 3 hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
Why is Palma to Manchester €400 but Palma to Birmingham €250?
Compensation goes by great-circle distance: Manchester is 1,581 km from Palma, just over the 1,500 km line, and Birmingham is 1,475 km, just under it.
What am I entitled to if my flight from Palma is cancelled?
Your choice of a refund or a new flight, meals while you wait and a hotel if needed, and €250 or €400 by distance unless you were told 14 days or more ahead, were offered a close alternative, or the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
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.
Is a thunderstorm an extraordinary circumstance?
It can be, case by case, if it makes flying unsafe. The airline must still give you meals, drinks and a hotel if you are moved to the next day.
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.
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