Aer Lingus flight delay compensation
Aer Lingus owes €250, €400 or €600 per passenger for an arrival three or more hours late, a short-notice cancellation, or denied boarding. Ireland's limitation period is six years, the most generous in the EU, so an older claim may still be alive.
Work out what Aer Lingus owes you →What Aer Lingus owes, by distance
| Distance of the flight | Compensation per passenger |
|---|---|
| Under 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500–3,500 km, or any flight within the EU over 1,500 km | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km between the EU and a non-EU airport | €600 |
When it applies: Arrival 3+ hours late, cancellation notified less than 14 days ahead, or denied boarding. The figures come from EU Regulation 261/2004 and are per passenger, including children on their own ticket.
How to claim, in four steps
- Confirm the amount. Put the route, the date and the length of the delay into the calculator. It applies every statute that covers the flight and shows which one pays most.
- Write the demand. The calculator produces a dated letter citing EU Regulation 261/2004 by article, addressed to Aer Lingus Limited. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
- Send it through the official route. Submit it through Aer Lingus's own form below, and keep a copy. A claim that exists only in a phone call cannot be proved later.
- Escalate if the answer is a refusal or silence. The calculator writes a chaser and then an escalation letter naming the national enforcement body for the departure country.
Where to send it — Aer Lingus's own claim pages
- Flight disruption compensation form
- Flight disruption expenses claim form
- EU Regulation 261/2004 — Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus separates the two claims: compensation on one form, out-of-pocket expenses (hotel, meals, transport) on another. Submit both — filing only the first leaves the money you actually spent unclaimed.
The refusals Aer Lingus sends, and what answers them
“Technical fault / unexpected maintenance issue”
A technical problem inherent in the normal exercise of the carrier's activity is not an extraordinary circumstance. The Court of Justice settled this in Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia (C-549/07) and confirmed it in van der Lans v KLM (C-257/14), where a component failing before its expected life was still held to be part of ordinary operations. Ask the airline to identify the defect and explain why it falls outside that case law.
“Strike” (when the strikers are the airline's own staff)
A strike by the carrier's own crew is part of running an airline. In Krüsemann v TUIfly (C-195/17) a wildcat sickout following a restructuring announcement was held not extraordinary. A strike by external parties — air traffic control, airport security — is different and can excuse the airline. Make it say which kind it was.
“Weather” with no detail
Weather can be extraordinary, but the airline must also prove it took all reasonable measures, and that the specific weather actually affected your flight. Ask for the METAR/TAF for the airport at the relevant hour and the arrival times of other flights in that window. Airports rarely close for one aircraft only.
“We already refunded your ticket”
A refund under Article 8 and compensation under Article 7 are separate entitlements. Receiving your money back for an unused flight does not extinguish the fixed compensation for the disruption itself.
Silence
Silence is not a defence. Send a second letter that sets a deadline, states that you will escalate, and names the national enforcement body for the departure country. Stage 3 of the calculator writes both the chaser and the escalation letter.
How long you have
Limitation periods are national, not European: roughly 2 years in Germany and the Netherlands, 3 in Spain and France, 5 in Poland, 6 in Ireland. Claim early anyway — airlines discard operational records long before the deadline.
Questions
How much does Aer Lingus pay for a delayed flight?
€250 for under 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500–3,500 km, or any flight within the EU over 1,500 km, €600 for over 3,500 km between the EU and a non-EU airport under EU Regulation 261/2004. The band is set by the distance of the flight, not by what the ticket cost.
Does Aer Lingus have to pay if the delay was a technical fault?
A technical problem inherent in the normal exercise of the carrier's activity is not an extraordinary circumstance. The Court of Justice settled this in Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia (C-549/07) and confirmed it in van der Lans v KLM (C-257/14), where a component failing before its expected life was still held to be part of ordinary operations. Ask the airline to identify the defect and explain why it falls outside that case law.
Do I have to accept a voucher?
No. Article 7(3) permits payment in vouchers only with your signed agreement, so you can decline one and ask for a bank transfer instead.
How long do I have to claim?
Limitation periods are national, not European: roughly 2 years in Germany and the Netherlands, 3 in Spain and France, 5 in Poland, 6 in Ireland. Claim early anyway — airlines discard operational records long before the deadline.
Open the calculator with Aer Lingus selected →
Claiming against a different airline
- Ryanair flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- Wizz Air flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- easyJet flight delay compensation — UK Regulation 261 (retained EU law)
- Lufthansa flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- British Airways flight delay compensation — UK Regulation 261 (retained EU law)
- Air France flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- KLM flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- El Al flight delay compensation — Aviation Services Law (Compensation and Assistance), 5772-2012
- Turkish Airlines flight delay compensation — SHY-Passenger (Turkish civil aviation passenger rights regulation)
- Iberia flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- Vueling flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- TAP Air Portugal flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- ITA Airways flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004
- Eurowings flight delay compensation — EU Regulation 261/2004