Flight delay? These are the best and worst European airlines for making a compensation claim

Flight delays can be a frustrating experience for travelers, but EU law provides compensation to mitigate the blow. Under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, passengers are entitled to compensation of €250 for short-haul flights delayed over two hours, €400 for mid-range flights delayed over three hours, and €600 for long-haul flights delayed over four hours.

However, the process of claiming this compensation can be challenging, as getting airlines to pay out can be a lengthy and sometimes difficult task. While passengers can make the claim themselves, they also have the option of using specialized companies such as AirAdvisor.

AirAdvisor analyzed 68,283 claims made by 59 European airlines between January and June 2026 and ranked them based on their claim resolution rate and the number of cases sent to court. The top European airlines for making compensation claims are TAP Air Portugal, with an impressive 88.7% claim resolution rate and only 0.6% of cases sent to court.

LOT Polish Airlines follows closely behind with an 82.8% successful claim rate and no cases sent to court. Wizz Air and Iberia also rank highly, with resolution rates of 72.4% and 67.3% respectively, and court referral rates of 1.2% and none.

On the other end of the spectrum, the most difficult airlines to get compensation from are TAROM, the Romanian flag carrier, with only a 3.3% success rate and 46.7% of cases sent to court. Aeroitalia, Ryanair, and Aeroitalia round out the bottom five, with resolution rates of 0.6%, 2.1%, and 2.1% respectively, and a high percentage of cases sent to court. It is important to note that this ranking is based on claims made through AirAdvisor, and the overall claim resolution rates and number of cases sent to court may differ.