Passengers could claim if they arrived three hours or more late. Credit: Goodwin Mallorca / Shutterstock
Anyone who sat through a long delay at Málaga airport this summer could still get money back, with AirHelp putting the number of eligible passengers at 42,200 between July and September. However, a late flight alone doesn’t earn a payout, and the delay that matters is three hours or more.
Why 42,200 eligible passengers doesn’t mean 42,200 payouts
AirHelp’s figures put the number of Málaga passengers eligible for compensation after delays or cancellations between July and September at 42,200. However, it’s important to note that the claims company counts delays of just 15 minutes, and those small setbacks don’t earn a payout on their own.
So the number who can actually claim is likely to be smaller, because what counts under the rules in Spain is how late you reached your destination rather than how long you sat waiting to take off. The line that has to be crossed is an arrival delay of three hours or more.
How much you’d get depends on the distance
Payouts are set by the length of your flight, with €250 for journeys under 1,500 kilometres, €400 for 1,500 to 3,500 kilometres and €600 for anything longer, according to Spain’s aviation safety agency (AESA).
Most flights between Málaga and the UK or northern Europe sit in the middle band, so €400 is the figure many readers could be entitled to, while a late hop to Madrid would only pay €250. It’s also per passenger, so a family of four on a €400 route could be owed €1,600.
Flights leaving the UK are covered by Britain’s own version of the rules, which pays out in pounds, so it’s worth checking which one applies to your route.
When an airline can refuse to pay
Airlines don’t have to pay if the delay was down to extraordinary circumstances (events outside their control), which AESA says can include severe weather, strikes outside the airline and air traffic restrictions. However, it’s up to the airline to prove that was the cause, so a vague excuse isn’t the end of the matter and passengers should press on if they believe they’re entitled to compensation.
Even where there’s no payout, airlines must still provide meals and drinks during a long wait, plus a hotel if you’re stuck overnight. So if you paid for any of that yourself, you can claim the costs back as long as you’ve kept the receipts.
New EU rules won’t change this summer’s claims
The European Parliament backed an overhaul of air passenger rights in July, and compensation will still start at three hours. However, the new rules aren’t due to apply until 2027, so anything from this summer will be judged under the current ones.
How to claim, and how long you’ve got
Start with the airline. In Spain you have five years from the flight to make that first claim, and the airline has one month to reply. If you hear nothing, or the answer is no, you can complain to AESA for free within a year of that first claim. It normally has 90 days to decide, its ruling is binding on the airline and, under a 2025 law, airlines that ignore AESA’s decisions can be fined.
Claims companies like AirHelp will do the paperwork for you, although it’s worth checking what fee they charge before you sign up. So dig out your booking confirmation, check what time you actually landed and keep hold of every receipt, then send your claim to the airline.