Delayed or cancelled flight from Tenerife North
For anyone stuck at Tenerife North, on a Binter hop to another island, a flight to the Spanish mainland, or the first leg of a journey home to the UK or Ireland via Madrid or Barcelona. Here is what the airline owes you now, and what you can claim afterwards.
The short answer
Every flight from Tenerife North 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 other islands, Seville and Málaga, €400 on longer flights within the EU such as Madrid and Barcelona, and €600 to Caracas, 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 Tenerife North right now?
The airline must give you meals and drinks, and two free calls or emails, once the delay reaches 2 hours on an island hop or a flight to Seville or Málaga, 3 hours on Madrid, Barcelona and the rest of the mainland, and 4 hours to Caracas, plus a hotel and transport if you are moved to the next day. At 5 hours you can take a refund instead. Fog does not cancel any of this, so if nothing is offered, buy what is reasonable and keep the receipts.
Wait somewhere calm
A lounge pass buys a seat, food, drinks and Wi-Fi away from the crowds at the gate.
Nivaria VIP Lounge, Tenerife North AirportIf your flight has gone
Every way back into Tenerife, timed and priced.
Getting into Tenerife
Compensation for flights from Tenerife North
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 |
|---|---|---|
| La Gomera GMZ | 99 km | €250 |
| Gran Canaria LPA | 112 km | €250 |
| La Palma SPC | 139 km | €250 |
| El Hierro VDE | 169 km | €250 |
| Fuerteventura FUE | 242 km | €250 |
| Lanzarote ACE | 272 km | €250 |
| Funchal (Madeira) FNC | 471 km | €250 |
| Seville SVQ | 1,390 km | €250 |
| Málaga AGP | 1,434 km | €250 |
| Santiago de Compostela SCQ | 1,753 km | €400 |
| Madrid MAD | 1,772 km | €400 |
| Alicante ALC | 1,822 km | €400 |
| Valencia VLC | 1,902 km | €400 |
| Asturias OVD | 1,912 km | €400 |
| Bilbao BIO | 2,038 km | €400 |
| Palma de Mallorca PMI | 2,139 km | €400 |
| Barcelona BCN | 2,195 km | €400 |
| Caracas CCS | 5,620 km | €600 |
What delays flights at Tenerife North
Low cloud and fog. Spain's air navigation publication for the airport says moist air reaches condensation at the airport's height, so cloud forms over the runway and visibility can be almost nil on part of it while the rest is clear, most often between April and October. AEMET, Spain's weather agency, names fog and low cloud as the one weather risk that seriously restricts the airport, especially in June and July, causing diversions, delays and cancellations; strong northerly winds also bring turbulence on the approach. Weather like this can be an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation may not be due, but care is.
Strikes: in August 2025 Spain's Ministry of Transport set minimum services for a strike by Menzies ground-handling staff here. Strikes by air traffic controllers or airport staff may be extraordinary; a strike by the airline's own crew is not, and nor is an ordinary technical fault, so those pay.
Your rights while you wait here
Ask your airline's staff at the gate or at the handling desks in the arrivals hall (Aena lists Binter Canarias, Menzies and South Europe Ground Services) for meal vouchers, and for a new flight if you are cancelled. Montecelio in the arrivals hall serves from 05:00 to 23:00, and the Nivaria lounge after security opens 05:15 to 21:15.
- 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
- Island hops, Seville, Málaga, Madeira
- €250 (1,500 km or less)
- Madrid, Barcelona and the rest of the mainland
- €400
- Caracas
- €600, or €300 if you arrive 3 to 4 hours late
- 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
- Meals and drinks, long haul
- From 4 hours on flights over 3,500 km outside the EU
- 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
Connecting via Madrid or Barcelona
If Tenerife North to Madrid and Madrid to London are on one booking, the delay is measured where you finally land and the distance is from Tenerife North to London, not the two legs added up. Tenerife North to London Heathrow is 2,878 km, so a 3-hour delay at Heathrow is worth €400 even if the first flight left only an hour late. Two separate bookings are treated as two separate flights.
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.
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 Tenerife North
How much compensation for a delayed flight from Tenerife North?
€250 per passenger on flights of 1,500 km or less, €400 on longer flights within the EU such as Madrid and Barcelona, and €600 to Caracas, if you arrive 3 hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
Is fog at Tenerife North an extraordinary circumstance?
It can be, case by case: weather incompatible with a safe flight is a recognised extraordinary circumstance. The airline must still give you meals, drinks and, if you are moved to the next day, a hotel.
Do I get compensation on an inter-island flight?
Yes, the islands are EU territory, so a Binter or Canaryfly hop is covered: €250 if you arrive 3 hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
Is Tenerife North to Seville €250 or €400?
It is 1,390 km, so €250; Málaga, at 1,434 km, is €250 too. Madrid, Barcelona and the rest of the mainland are over 1,500 km, so €400.
What am I entitled to if my flight from Tenerife North is cancelled?
Your choice of a refund or a new flight, meals while you wait and a hotel if needed, and compensation by distance unless you were told 14 days or more ahead, were offered a close alternative, or the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
How long do I have to claim?
Spanish law's general limit is 5 years. 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.