Aegean Airlines flight delay and cancellation compensation

Aegean Airlines flight delay and cancellation claims pay €250 to €600 per passenger under EU261, or £220 to £520 under UK261. You qualify if you reach your final destination three or more hours late, if Aegean cancels with under 14 days' notice, or if it denies you boarding. Most Greek island flights fall in the €250 band.

Does EU261 cover an Aegean Airlines flight delay on the Greek islands?

Aegean Airlines is Greece's de facto flag carrier, hubbed at Athens and a member of the Star Alliance. It holds a Greek operating licence, which makes it an EU carrier, so EU261 reaches both directions:

• Departures from any EU/EEA airport — covered whoever operates the flight
• Arrivals into the EU/EEA from a third country — covered because Aegean is an EU airline, which brings its Middle Eastern and other inbound flights inside the regulation
• UK routes — UK261 applies to departures from the UK and to arrivals into the UK on Aegean

Aegean and its regional arm Olympic Air fly a dense Greek island network, all intra-EU flights, and the claim follows the operating carrier that flew the aircraft.

How much does Aegean pay for an island or international flight?

Compensation is due when you arrive at your final destination three or more hours late, when a flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, or when you are denied boarding on an oversold flight after checking in on time.

• EUR 250 — routes of 1,500 km or less, which covers the domestic island network and most short international flying
• EUR 400 — intra-EU routes over 1,500 km and other routes of 1,500 to 3,500 km
• EUR 600 — the smaller number of routes over 3,500 km

Article 7(2) allows the top band to be halved where a re-routed long-haul flight arrives under four hours late. UK261 uses GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520. The amount is fixed by distance, not the fare, and each passenger on the booking claims separately.

When Aegean Airlines doesn't have to pay

No compensation is due where the airline proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures — severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, airport closures, security incidents or bird strikes. Strong summer winds around some Greek islands can genuinely qualify.

The burden of proof is on the airline, and a rejection that cites the weather without evidence of the conditions on the day is not a completed defence. A strike by Aegean's own pilots or cabin crew is generally not extraordinary, whereas strikes by air-traffic controllers or third-party airport staff usually are. Routine technical faults normally remain the airline's responsibility.

How to claim from Aegean Airlines

Keep the booking reference, boarding passes, the disruption notice, and receipts for anything you paid for yourself. Note the actual arrival time at your final destination.

Response times vary and lengthen sharply during the summer peak. If a claim is refused without proper substantiation, it can be escalated to Greece's civil aviation authority for departures from Greek airports, to the enforcement body of the departure state elsewhere in the EU, or taken to court within the local limitation period.

What it costs

The eligibility check is free. If we recover your compensation we charge a fixed EUR 39 success fee — the same whether you're owed EUR 250 or EUR 600 — and the airline's payment goes to you. No win, no fee.

How to claim Aegean Airlines compensation

Start with the flight itself. Our free flight check reads the recorded times for your Aegean Airlines flight and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes.

For the law behind the figure, the flight delay compensation guide covers arrival delays and the cancellation compensation guide covers a flight that never operated. If Aegean Airlines has already refused you, the case law summary sets out what the courts have said about the usual excuses.