Delayed or cancelled flight from Tenerife South
For anyone whose flight out of Tenerife South is late, cancelled or overbooked, from a Jet2 flight to Manchester to a Ryanair flight to Dublin. Here is what the airline owes you while you wait, what you can claim afterwards, and how to claim it.
The short answer
Tenerife is part of the EU, so every flight from Tenerife South 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 shorter flights such as Gran Canaria and Lisbon, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
Compensation calculator
What is your flight worth?
–
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 South 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 flights of 1,500 km or less, such as Gran Canaria and Lisbon), 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 applies even when the cause is calima, wind or a strike, so if no voucher appears, 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.
Montaña Roja VIP Lounge, Tenerife South AirportIf your flight has gone
Every way back into Tenerife, timed and priced.
Getting into Tenerife
Compensation for flights from Tenerife South
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gran Canaria LPA | 117 km | €250 |
| Lisbon LIS | 1,378 km | €250 |
| Madrid MAD | 1,824 km | €400 |
| Cork ORK | 2,730 km | €400 |
| Shannon SNN | 2,814 km | €400 |
| Cardiff CWL | 2,822 km | €400 |
| Bristol BRS | 2,842 km | €400 |
| London Gatwick LGW | 2,913 km | €400 |
| London Heathrow LHR | 2,932 km | €400 |
| Knock (Ireland West) NOC | 2,945 km | €400 |
| Dublin DUB | 2,946 km | €400 |
| London Luton LTN | 2,973 km | €400 |
| Birmingham BHX | 2,978 km | €400 |
| London Stansted STN | 2,997 km | €400 |
| East Midlands EMA | 3,029 km | €400 |
| Liverpool LPL | 3,029 km | €400 |
| Manchester MAN | 3,048 km | €400 |
| Belfast International BFS | 3,075 km | €400 |
| Leeds Bradford LBA | 3,118 km | €400 |
| Amsterdam AMS | 3,224 km | €400 |
| Newcastle NCL | 3,232 km | €400 |
| Düsseldorf DUS | 3,237 km | €400 |
| Glasgow GLA | 3,242 km | €400 |
| Edinburgh EDI | 3,276 km | €400 |
What delays flights at Tenerife South
Two kinds of weather matter here, according to AEMET, Spain's weather agency. The first is wind shear on the approach: the island's mountains bend the north-east trade winds, which is most frequent in summer, and pilots abandon landings and divert. The second is calima, Saharan dust that cuts visibility, most often in February and March; AEMET's guide to the airport uses 23 February 2020 as its example. Weather like this can count as an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation may not be due, but the airline must still look after you.
Strikes are the other cause. Spain's Ministry of Transport set minimum services for ground-handling strikes that reached this airport: Menzies staff on August 2025 weekends, and Azul Handling, which handles Ryanair group flights, in a strike that began on 1 October 2025. The Commission says strikes by air traffic controllers or airport staff may be extraordinary, and that a strike by the airline's own staff is not; handling companies working for an airline are not addressed directly, so make the claim and let the airline prove its case.
What does pay: a strike by the airline's own pilots or cabin crew, which the EU Court of Justice ruled in 2021 is not extraordinary, and ordinary technical faults. An airline can blame bad weather that hit the same aircraft earlier in the day only if it shows a direct link to your delay.
Your rights while you wait here
The airline owes you care at Tenerife South whatever caused the delay. Ask at the gate or your airline's desk for meal vouchers; the handling companies (Aena lists Aviapartner, easyJet, Menzies, Ryanair and Iberia) have desks in the arrivals hall. The airport is open 24 hours, and Enrique Tomás airside and La Boutique Trattoria Viajera before security serve through the night. If the airline gives you nothing, buy what is reasonable and claim it back with the receipts.
- 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
- Tenerife South to the UK or Ireland
- €400 (all 2,700 to 3,300 km)
- To Gran Canaria or Lisbon
- €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
Check your claim with AirHelpQuestions people ask
Good questions about Tenerife South
How much compensation for a delayed flight from Tenerife South?
€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.
Is calima an extraordinary circumstance?
It can be, case by case: weather that makes a flight unsafe is a recognised extraordinary circumstance, so the airline may not owe compensation. It still owes you meals, drinks and a hotel if you are moved to the next day.
My Jet2 or easyJet flight from Tenerife South to Manchester was 4 hours late. What am I owed?
Tenerife South to Manchester is 3,048 km, so you are owed €400 each unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. The flight is also covered by the UK rules, but you can only be paid once.
What am I entitled to if my flight from Tenerife South is cancelled?
Your choice of a refund or a new flight, meals while you wait and a hotel if needed, and €400 or €250 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.
How long do I have to claim for a flight from Tenerife South?
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.