TAP Air Portugal delayed flight compensation
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Quick answer
If your TAP Air Portugal flight reached its final destination 3 hours or more after the scheduled arrival time, EU261 compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger (by distance) is due unless TAP Air Portugal proves extraordinary circumstances. The departure delay does not matter — the arrival time, measured when the doors open, does. Below 3 hours you still have care rights.
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)
Delay 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(€300 3–4 h)
- Lisbon → São Paulo (7,935 km)€600(€300 3–4 h)
- Lisbon → New York (5,434 km)€600(€300 3–4 h)
Full amount from 4 hours of arrival delay; on flights over 3,500 km the amount in brackets applies between 3 and 4 hours.
Direct answer
- Short answer
- If your TAP Air Portugal flight arrived at its final destination 3 hours or more late, 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
- The amount is fixed by the distance of the flight, not the fare; the delay is measured when the doors open at the final destination (Sturgeon, Germanwings v Henning). TAP Air Portugal can only refuse by proving the cause was extraordinary and unavoidable.
- What can change it
- TAP Air Portugal proves an extraordinary circumstance for your flight — weather, ATC, a third-party strike — and that it could not avoid the delay
- The arrival delay was under 3 hours: care and expenses may still be due, fixed compensation is not
- Another airline operated the aircraft: the operating carrier owes the compensation, not TAP Air Portugal
- Over 3,500 km outside the intra-EU cap with a 3–4 hour delay: the amount is halved
- Check your flight
- Check my TAP Air Portugal flight
- 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
- Delayed
How late did you arrive at your final destination?
Count the delay when the doors opened at your final destination, not the departure delay.
TAP delays: what is specific
Most TAP itineraries connect through Lisbon on a single booking, so the delay that counts is the one at your final destination, not at Lisbon (Folkerts). Missing a Lisbon connection because the first sector was late and arriving in São Paulo or New York three hours or more behind schedule is a €600 case even though each sector on its own was short.
TAP’s long-haul aircraft turn around in Lisbon; a late arrival from Brazil delays the evening departures to Europe. That knock-on delay is compensable unless TAP proves the original cause was extraordinary. Ask for the cause on the first sector, not just yours.
Expect TAP to cite Lisbon airport capacity or Portuguese ATC. Ask which restriction applied, at what time, and whether other TAP departures operated.
How the 3 hours are measured on TAP Air Portugal flights
The delay that counts is the arrival delay at your final destination, measured when at least one aircraft door opens — not the departure delay, the touchdown time or the block-on time. Compare it with the scheduled arrival on your booking. A TAP Air Portugal flight that leaves 3 hours 30 late but makes up time to arrive 2 hours 50 late is not compensable; one that leaves on time and arrives 3 hours late is.
How much TAP Air Portugal owes for a delay
Under EU261 the amount depends only on the great-circle distance of the flight (or of the whole journey on a single booking), never on the ticket price: €250, €400 or €600 per passenger. On flights over 3,500 km TAP Air Portugal may halve the amount (€300 instead of €600) when the arrival delay is between 3 and 4 hours; from 4 hours the full amount applies. The table above shows the amounts on TAP Air Portugal’s typical routes.
Care while you wait
From 2 hours of delay (short flights), 3 hours (medium) or 4 hours (long) TAP Air Portugal must offer meals and refreshments in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or e-mails, and a hotel with transport if you are kept overnight. If it does not, keep receipts for reasonable expenses and claim them separately — they come on top of the fixed compensation. After 5 hours you may also abandon the trip and claim a full refund of the unused ticket.
What TAP Air Portugal may argue
Only extraordinary circumstances exempt TAP Air Portugal from paying: severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions or strikes, security incidents, bird strikes, external strikes. Technical faults, crew shortages, late inbound aircraft from an earlier rotation and TAP Air Portugal’s own staff strikes are not extraordinary. The burden of proof is on TAP Air Portugal: ask for the precise cause of your flight’s delay and the measures it took, and treat a bare “operational reasons” as no answer.
How to claim a delay from TAP Air Portugal
- Note the actual arrival time (arrivals board, flight-tracker screenshot, TAP Air Portugal’s own notification).
- Ask TAP Air Portugal in writing for the reason for the delay.
- Submit the claim through TAP Air Portugal’s official channel (https://www.flytap.com/en-pt/customer-support), quoting the booking reference, the flight, the date, the arrival delay and the amount per passenger.
- If TAP Air Portugal refuses or does not reply within 8 weeks, escalate to ANAC (Portugal NEB); a court claim remains available within the limitation period of the departure country.
Prepare the claim letter
Enter your flight and what happened; get the regulation, the amount, the evidence list and an editable letter — free.
Frequently asked questions
How much does TAP Air Portugal pay for a 3-hour delay?
€250 per passenger on flights up to 1,500 km, €400 between 1,500 and 3,500 km and €600 beyond 3,500 km — the same fixed amounts as any airline under EU261. On long-haul flights TAP Air Portugal may pay €300 when the arrival delay is under 4 hours.
Does TAP Air Portugal pay compensation for a 2-hour delay?
No fixed compensation is due below 3 hours of arrival delay. From 2 hours (short flights) TAP Air Portugal still owes care: meals, refreshments and communication, and a hotel if the wait runs overnight. Keep receipts if it does not provide them.
Is a delay caused by a late inbound aircraft compensable on TAP Air Portugal?
Usually yes. A knock-on delay from an earlier rotation is only exempt if TAP Air Portugal proves the original cause was extraordinary and that it could not have avoided the delay with reasonable measures such as a spare aircraft or crew.
How long do I have to claim a TAP Air Portugal delay?
It depends on the country of departure, not on TAP Air Portugal: typically between 1 and 6 years (for example 6 years in the UK and Ireland, 5 in France and Spain, 3 in Germany, 2 in the Netherlands). Check the country page for your departure airport.
Sources
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia — technical problems are not, as such, extraordinary circumstances
- European CommissionInterpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (2016/C 214/04)
- 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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