Does EU261 cover an Olympic Air flight delay to the islands?
Olympic Air flight delay compensation pays €250 per passenger on almost every route, because nearly all of them are under 1,500 km. You qualify when you arrive three or more hours late, when the airline cancels with under fourteen days' notice, or when a full flight leaves you behind. Its Greek licence covers flights both ways.
Olympic Air is the regional airline in the Aegean group. It flies turboprops from Athens and Thessaloniki out to the islands, on routes the larger jets cannot serve.
It is a Greek company with a Greek operating licence, which makes it an EU carrier. EU261 covers its flights in both directions.
What a delayed flight pays
Amounts are per passenger, not per booking. A delay of 3–4 hours over 3,500 km may be reduced by half under Article 7(2).
How much is a short Olympic Air island flight worth?
Almost every Olympic Air route is under 1,500 km, so the figure is €250 a passenger. A longer route would reach the €400 band.
| Olympic Air route | Compensation per passenger |
|---|---|
| Under 1,500 km, which is almost every route | €250 |
| A longer route, from 1,500 km | €400 |
That €250 does not shrink because the flight was short or the fare was low. EU261 sets the sum by distance, and a forty-minute hop to Milos falls in the same band as Athens to Rome.
The trigger is arriving three or more hours late at your final destination, a cancellation with less than fourteen days' notice, or being turned away from a full flight.
The airline blamed the wind at the island airport — now what?
Ask for that in writing, and keep it. Weather is a real defence and island airports get more of it than most.
It is not the end of the matter. The airline has to show two things: that the cause was outside its control, and that no reasonable measure would have avoided the disruption. If other flights operated into the same airport within the hour, that is worth asking about.
How do you claim Olympic Air flight delay compensation?
Start with the flight itself. Our free flight check reads the recorded departure and arrival times and tells you which band your Olympic Air flight falls in.
A Olympic Air compensation claim turns on two things: the arrival time, and the reason the airline gives.
For a late arrival, read the flight delay compensation guide. For a flight that never flew, read the cancellation compensation guide. It covers Olympic Air cancellation compensation too. Has the airline said no? The case law summary sets out what the courts make of the usual excuses.
Check what you're owed
What you need to claim
- Your flight number and date
- The airports you flew between
- Roughly how late you arrived
- Your booking reference, if you still have it
No boarding pass? We can usually work from the flight number and date alone.