--- title: "Volotea Flight Delay and Cancellation Compensation" url: https://flightcompensations.com/airlines/volotea author: "Jaacov Sonenblick" published: 2026-09-04 updated: 2026-10-06 publisher: FlightCompensations summary: "Volotea is a Spanish regional airline and an EU carrier, so EU261 covers its southern European network both ways — worth EUR 250 to EUR 600 each." --- # Volotea flight delay and cancellation compensation Volotea is a Spanish regional airline and an EU carrier, so EU261 covers its southern European network both ways — worth EUR 250 to EUR 600 each. **Volotea flight delay** and cancellation claims **pay** €250 to €600 per passenger under EU261, or £220 to £520 under UK261. You qualify if you land three or more hours late at your final destination, if Volotea cancels with under 14 days' notice, or if it denies you boarding. Most of its regional routes fall in the €250 band. ## Does EU261 cover a Volotea flight delay between regional cities? Volotea is a Spanish airline that specialises in **point-to-point routes between small and medium-sized cities** across southern Europe, with bases spread across France, Italy, Spain and Greece. It holds a Spanish operating licence, which makes it an **EU carrier**, and EU261 reaches both directions: - **Departures from any EU/EEA airport**, whoever operates the flight - **Arrivals into the EU/EEA from outside it**, because the operating carrier is an EU airline - **Departures from the UK, and arrivals into the UK** on Volotea fall under UK261 Because Volotea connects regional cities directly rather than through a hub, many of its routes are ones no other airline flies, which can make re-routing after a cancellation slower — a right the airline still owes you. Compensation is triggered by a **three-hour-plus arrival delay**, a **cancellation with less than 14 days' notice**, or **denied boarding** after checking in on time. ## How much you could receive - **EUR 250** — routes of 1,500 km or less, which covers the bulk of Volotea's short regional flying - **EUR 400** — intra-EU routes over 1,500 km and other routes of 1,500 to 3,500 km - **EUR 600** — the rare route beyond 3,500 km, which its short-haul network seldom reaches The amount is set by distance, not by the fare, so a cheap promotional seat and a flexible one carry the same entitlement. UK261 uses **GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520**, and every passenger with a confirmed booking claims separately. ## When Volotea doesn't have to pay There is no compensation where Volotea proves **extraordinary circumstances** that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures — severe weather, ATC flow restrictions, airport closures, security incidents or a bird strike. The **burden of proof is the airline's**, not yours: it must identify the cause and show what it did to limit the delay, including whether an aircraft or crew could have been repositioned. A strike by Volotea's **own staff is generally not extraordinary**, while a third-party or ATC strike usually is. Routine technical faults found during ordinary maintenance normally remain the airline's responsibility, and a reactionary delay from an earlier rotation is not automatically excused. ## How to claim from Volotea Keep the booking reference, boarding passes, the notification message, and receipts for anything you paid for yourself, and note the actual arrival time at your destination. Volotea wants claims through its own process and may ask for verification before releasing money. If a claim is refused without adequate reasoning, it can be escalated to the enforcement body of the departure state — Spain's AESA for Spanish departures, France's DGAC for French ones — or pursued in court within the applicable 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 Volotea compensation Start with the flight itself. Our [free flight check](/claim) reads the recorded times for your Volotea flight and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes. For the law behind the figure, the [flight delay compensation guide](/flight-delay-compensation) covers arrival delays and the [cancellation compensation guide](/flight-cancellation-compensation) covers a flight that never operated. If Volotea has already refused you, the [case law summary](/passenger-rights/case-law) sets out what the courts have said about the usual excuses. ## Frequently asked questions ### Volotea cancelled the only flight on my route. What am I entitled to? You can choose between a refund and re-routing to your destination at the earliest opportunity, even if that means travelling via another airport or on another airline. If the cancellation came with less than 14 days' notice and the cause was within Volotea's control, fixed compensation is due on top, and the airline owes care while you wait. ### Does the fare I paid affect my Volotea compensation? No. EU261 sets the amount by route distance alone, so a cheap promotional seat and a flexible fare attract the same EUR 250 or EUR 400. The compensation is separate from any refund you are also entitled to. ### Volotea said the delay was caused by an earlier flight running late. Is that extraordinary? Not automatically. A reactionary or knock-on delay only escapes compensation if the airline can trace it back to a genuinely extraordinary root cause and show it took all reasonable steps to recover. A general shortage of the airline's own aircraft or crew is not an extraordinary circumstance. ## Sources - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32004R0261 - https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/delays-and-cancellations/ - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-402/07 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-549/07 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-195/17 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-452/13 Read the full page with the claim check at https://flightcompensations.com/airlines/volotea