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TAP Air Portugal cancelled flight compensation

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Quick answer

When TAP Air Portugal cancels your flight you always get the choice between a full refund and re-routing, plus meals and a hotel while you wait. Compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger is due on top if TAP Air Portugal told you less than 14 days before departure and did not offer a replacement flight within the legal time windows — unless it proves extraordinary circumstances.

Operating carrier

TAP Air Portugal TP / TAP · Portugal

EU/EEA-licensed carrier — Regulation 261/2004 applies to all its flights departing from the EU/EEA and to its flights into the EU/EEA.

Applicable regimes: Portugália Airlines (TAP Express)

Where to send your claim

Official claim form / help centre
https://www.flytap.com/en-pt/customer-support
Dispute-resolution scheme
ANAC (Portugal NEB)

Cancellation compensation on typical TAP Air Portugal routes

  • Lisbon → London (1,564 km)€400
  • Lisbon → Paris (1,470 km)€250
  • Lisbon → Madrid (513 km)€250
  • Porto → Lisbon (277 km)€250
  • Lisbon → New York (5,404 km)€600
  • Lisbon → São Paulo (7,935 km)€600
  • Lisbon → New York (5,434 km)€600

Due when {airline} informed you less than 14 days before departure and no replacement flight met the legal time windows.

Direct answer

Short answer
If TAP Air Portugal told you of the cancellation less than 14 days before departure and did not re-route you within the legal windows, EU261 compensation is due per passenger unless TAP Air Portugal proves an extraordinary circumstance.
Amount
€250–€600per passenger on TAP Air Portugal’s typical routes, by distance
Why
Compensation depends on when TAP Air Portugal informed you and what it offered (Article 5); the amount is fixed by distance. Refund or re-routing and care are due whatever the cause.
What can change it
  • You were told 14 days or more before departure: no fixed compensation, but refund or re-routing
  • TAP Air Portugal re-routed you within the legal windows (2 h early / 4 h late with 7–14 days’ notice; 1 h / 2 h under 7 days)
  • TAP Air Portugal proves an extraordinary circumstance for your flight — weather, ATC, a third-party strike — and that it could not avoid the delay
  • Another airline operated the aircraft: the operating carrier owes the compensation, not TAP Air Portugal
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Official source
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights — European Parliament and CouncilLast checked against the source on 23 September 2026

Can TAP Air Portugal passengers claim compensation?

Yes. TAP Air Portugal holds a EU/EEA licence, so Regulation 261 covers its flights departing from the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland and its flights into them: €250–€600 per passenger for an arrival delay of 3 hours or more, a cancellation announced under 14 days ahead, or denied boarding — unless the airline proves an extraordinary circumstance.

Does this apply to your flight?

TAP Air Portugal flight affected?

A few short questions — no flight number needed yet. You get a preliminary result on the facts you give; the full check confirms it from the itinerary.

Already known from this page

  • TAP Air Portugal
  • Cancelled

When were you told about the cancellation?

TAP cancellations: what is specific

TAP’s notice is the e-mail or app message announcing the cancellation and offering a refund or a rebooking; its timestamp decides the 14-day rule. Schedule changes announced weeks ahead carry no compensation, but you still choose between a refund and re-routing.

For long-haul cancellations TAP usually rebooks via Lisbon on its next flight — often the next day. If the re-routing arrives more than 4 hours after your original schedule, the full €600 is due; under 4 hours, TAP may halve it to €300. Hotel and meals while you wait are owed in addition (Article 9), whatever the cause.

The three questions that decide a TAP Air Portugal cancellation claim

  1. When did TAP Air Portugal tell you? Informed 14 days or more before departure: no compensation, but a refund or re-routing and care. Less than 14 days: compensation is due unless a replacement flight met the windows below or the cause was extraordinary. TAP Air Portugal must prove when and how it informed you — keep its cancellation e-mail or app notification with the timestamp.
  2. What replacement did TAP Air Portugal offer? Between 7 and 14 days’ notice, no compensation if the re-routing departed no more than 2 hours early and arrived less than 4 hours late; under 7 days’ notice the margins shrink to 1 hour early and 2 hours late.
  3. Why was it cancelled? Weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, security and external strikes are extraordinary; TAP Air Portugal’s technical problems, crew shortages, rotation planning and its own staff’s strikes are not.

What you always get, whatever the reason

Compensation may depend on the cause, but three rights never do. TAP Air Portugal must offer you the choice between a full refund of the unused ticket (within 7 days, in cash or bank transfer — a voucher only with your agreement) and re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or on a later date of your choice. While you wait for the re-routing TAP Air Portugal must provide meals, refreshments, two calls or e-mails and, when an overnight stay becomes necessary, a hotel and transport to it. If it leaves you to arrange this yourself, keep receipts and claim the reasonable amounts.

How much TAP Air Portugal owes when compensation is due

€250, €400 or €600 per passenger under EU261, set by the distance of the flight (or of the whole journey on one booking). TAP Air Portugal may halve the long-haul amount to €300 when the replacement flight it offered arrived within the reduction windows (2 hours late for short flights, 3 hours for medium, 4 hours for long).

How to claim a cancellation from TAP Air Portugal

  1. Keep the cancellation notice, the original booking and the details of any replacement flight offered (departure and arrival times).
  2. Ask TAP Air Portugal in writing for the reason for the cancellation.
  3. Submit the claim through TAP Air Portugal’s official channel (https://www.flytap.com/en-pt/customer-support), stating the notice date, the replacement offered (or not) and the amount per passenger.
  4. If TAP Air Portugal refuses or stalls for 8 weeks, escalate to ANAC (Portugal NEB), then to the courts within the limitation period of the departure country.

Prepare the claim letter

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Frequently asked questions

Do I get compensation if TAP Air Portugal cancelled my flight two weeks in advance?

Not fixed compensation: cancellations announced 14 days or more before departure are exempt. TAP Air Portugal still owes you the choice between a full refund and re-routing, and care if you travel on the replacement flight.

Can TAP Air Portugal give me a voucher instead of a refund?

Only with your written agreement. The refund must be paid in cash, by bank transfer or card within 7 days. You can decline a voucher and insist on money.

Is a strike a valid reason for TAP Air Portugal not to pay?

A strike by TAP Air Portugal's own pilots, cabin crew or ground staff is not an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation is due. Strikes by air-traffic controllers or airport staff outside TAP Air Portugal's control are extraordinary, but the refund, re-routing and care rights still apply.

TAP Air Portugal rebooked me on a flight the next day — is that compensable?

If you were informed less than 7 days before departure, compensation is due unless the replacement departed at most 1 hour early and arrived less than 2 hours late — a next-day flight almost always exceeds that. TAP Air Portugal also owes a hotel and meals for the night.

Sources

  1. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-11/11 Air France v Folkerts — compensation for connecting flights depends on the delay at the final destination
  2. Court of Justice of the European UnionJoined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 Sturgeon v Condor and Böck v Air France — passengers of flights delayed by three hours or more may claim compensation
  3. Court of Justice of the European UnionJoined Cases C-156/22 to C-158/22 TAP Portugal — unexpected absence of crew is not an extraordinary circumstance
  4. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-257/14 van der Lans v KLM — spontaneous technical failure is inherent in the normal exercise of the activity
  5. Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia — technical problems are not, as such, extraordinary circumstances
  6. European CommissionInterpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (2016/C 214/04)
  7. European Parliament and CouncilRegulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights

Last legally reviewed: 12 September 2026 · Content updated: 12 September 2026

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