Cubana de Aviación Compensation 2026

Cubana de Aviación compensation: up to €600 per passenger

Cubana de Aviación flight delayed, cancelled or overbooked? Check for free in 2 minutes: we handle the claim, all the way to court if needed.

Up to €600 per passenger

Check in just 2 minutes

Nothing upfront: you only pay if you get compensation

Legal assistance specialised in air travel

DelayFlight24 applies European Regulation EC 261/2004

In short

Delay: if you arrive 3 hours or more late, Cubana de Aviación owes €250 to €600 per person, depending on the distance.

Cancellation: you are owed compensation if you were told less than 14 days before departure, on top of a ticket refund or an alternative flight.

Not owed for extraordinary circumstances (severe weather, air traffic control strikes). Technical faults and strikes by the airline's own staff usually are not extraordinary.

With DelayFlight24 you pay nothing upfront: if Cubana de Aviación pays, you keep €173.75 out of €250 or €278 out of €400.

Cubana de Aviación compensation: when it applies on flights between Europe and Cuba

Cubana de Aviación is Cuba's national airline, headquartered in Havana and based at José Martí airport. For European travellers its best-known route was Madrid–Havana, and in the past it also served Rome. If a Cubana flight leaving Europe arrived at least three hours late, was cancelled or you were denied boarding, you may be owed €600 per person, because transatlantic routes exceed 3,500 km.

Cubana is a non-EU airline. Regulation (EC) 261/2004 binds it only on flights departing an airport in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland. The return journey from Havana to Europe, when operated by Cubana, falls outside the Regulation.

Delay out of the EU

Your flight from Madrid reaches Cuba three hours or more behind schedule.

European departures only

Cancellation

The flight is withdrawn with under 14 days' notice and no reasonable alternative.

Late notice

Denied boarding

At a European departure gate you are left behind against your will, with ticket and documents in order.

Due at once

Not covered

Return flights from Cuba operated by Cubana, and genuinely exceptional events such as a Caribbean hurricane.

Limits of the Regulation

Did a Cubana flight out of Europe go wrong? Check your case free of charge.

Cubana de Aviación today: European flights cancelled since May 2026

For years Cubana has operated with a shrunken fleet and many aircraft grounded. By early 2025 its international network was down to Venezuela and Spain. From 12 May 2026 the airline cancelled the Madrid–Santiago de Cuba–Havana route (flights CU470 and CU471) after the operator contracted to fly it pulled out, citing a US executive order. At present no scheduled Cubana service to Europe appears to be running, and no restart date has been announced.

Past flights. Even with services suspended, we accept claims for Cubana flights already flown or cancelled, within the legal time limits.

How much Cubana de Aviación pays

Distance	Cubana examples	Amount
Over 3,500 km	Madrid–Havana, Madrid–Santiago de Cuba, Rome–Havana	€600

The amount is per passenger, including children with their own seat: two parents and two children on a Madrid–Havana flight arriving five hours late could claim €2,400.

Cubana flight delayed: what to do

Keep your ticket and boarding pass, even if you booked through an agency.
Photograph the departures board in Madrid or wherever you left from.
Note the arrival time in Cuba when the doors open.
Keep receipts for meals and hotels paid during the wait.
Ask for the cause in writing at the carrier's desk or via your agency.

Care at the airport

Distance	Meals and hotel after
Up to 1,500 km	2 hours
1,500 to 3,500 km	3 hours
Over 3,500 km (Europe–Cuba)	4 hours
Over 5 hours	You can abandon the trip and get the fare back

Connections via Havana

On a single booking starting in Europe, the delay at your final destination is what counts. More on Cubana delay compensation.

Does your Cubana de Aviación flight qualify?Check in 2 minutes, with no obligation.

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Cancelled Cubana flight: refund and compensation

Refund

Cubana has said it repays fares through the original sales channel: travel agent, tour operator or ticket office.

Compensation

On flights departing the EU, it comes on top if notice was under 14 days.

Notice	Compensation
14 days or more	No
7–13 days	Yes, unless the alternative leaves no more than 2 hours early and lands under 4 hours late
Under 7 days	Yes, unless the alternative leaves no more than 1 hour early and lands under 2 hours late

Force majeure? Cubana described the May 2026 cancellation as force majeure. Whether that rules out compensation must be judged flight by flight. Read more about a cancelled Cubana flight.

Cubana de Aviación overbooking

If you are refused boarding on a departure from Europe because seats ran out, you are owed €600 at once plus another flight. This does not apply if your visa, tourist card or travel documents for Cuba were missing. See our guide to Cubana overbooking.

Strikes and Cubana flights

A strike by the airline's own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance (case C-28/20); one by Spanish air traffic controllers or staff at the departure airport is.

Cubana said no? Common reasons

Usually payable

"Aircraft under maintenance"

Breakdowns and waits for spare parts are part of the airline's own risk.

EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07

It depends

"Return flight from Havana"

Not covered if Cubana operated it; possibly covered if a European airline flew it on Cubana's behalf.

Often not payable

"Hurricane or tropical storm"

Real Caribbean weather can justify a delay.

Cubana silent or refusing? We establish who operated the flight and pursue it with a formal demand and, if needed, court action. Check your Cubana flight.

How to claim compensation from Cubana

On your own

You must track down a contact in Havana or go through your agency. If that gets nowhere, turn to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (in Spain, AESA) or the courts.

With DelayFlight24

We handle the claim, formal demand and court action with our own lawyers. You pay only on success: 25% + VAT, leaving you €417 out of €600. Legal costs are ours, even if the case is lost.

If Cubana has already rejected you

Send us the reply: we check which airport you left from, who operated the flight and whether the reason would stand up before a European court.

Documents

Ticket or agency voucherShowing the CU flight number.
PassportFor each passenger.
Notices receivedAgency emails or Cubana announcements.

Time limits

The rules of the country where you take action apply (case C-139/11): enter the date and we will check.

How long payment takes

If the airline pays after our claim, it usually takes a few weeks; with a non-EU carrier, court proceedings can add a few months. We keep you posted by email and transfer your share as soon as we are paid.

Baggage and Cubana contact details

Lost or damaged luggage falls under the Montreal Convention: fill in a PIR at the airport, then claim within 7 days for damage and within 21 days of delivery for delay.

Head office: Cubana de Aviación, Havana, Cuba
Refunds: Through the channel where you bought the ticket
Flight status: Your travel agent or the departure airport

No upfront cost. If we recover nothing, you pay nothing. Check your Cubana flight.

What if Cubana de Aviación does not pay? We go all the way

Many airlines only pay when they realise we will not give up. If they refuse or do not reply, our lawyers take legal action, and you do not have to do anything.

Claim to the airline

We send the formal claim with all the documents.

Formal notice

If they do not pay, we send a formal notice with legal value.

Our lawyers in court

Our lawyers take the airline to court, all the way to a judgement.

If we lose, you pay nothingNo fee and no costs. If we win, the fee is 40% + VAT.

Legal costs are on usYou pay nothing for the court case, even if we lose.

All the way to a judgementWe do not stop at the formal notice: if needed we go to court.

Cubana de Aviación compensation: frequently asked questions

Does Cubana de Aviación still fly to Europe?

No scheduled Cubana flights to Europe currently appear to operate: the Madrid–Santiago de Cuba–Havana route was cancelled from 12 May 2026 and no restart has been announced. Claims for flights already flown or cancelled remain possible.

Does EU261 apply to Cubana?

Only partly. Cubana is a Cuban, non-EU airline, so the Regulation covers its flights departing an EU airport, such as Madrid–Havana, but not return flights from Cuba operated by Cubana.

How much is due for a delayed Madrid–Havana flight?

€600 per passenger, as the distance exceeds 3,500 km, provided the arrival delay is at least three hours and not caused by extraordinary circumstances.

My Cubana flight in May 2026 was cancelled. What can I claim?

A refund of the fare, which Cubana repays through the sales channel you used. If the flight departed the EU and notice was under 14 days, we also assess compensation: Cubana cites force majeure, but that needs checking case by case.

My return flight from Havana was operated by another airline. Does that matter?

Yes. What counts is the airline that actually operated the flight. If it was a European carrier, the Regulation also covers the flight from Cuba into the EU. Give us the flight details and we will check.

I was bumped from a Cubana flight in Madrid. What are my rights?

You are owed €600 straight away, plus a replacement flight or refund and care while you wait. Nothing is due if boarding was refused over missing documents or visa.

How long do I have to claim against Cubana?

The Regulation sets no deadline: the law of the country where you take action applies (case C-139/11). Enter your flight date and we will tell you whether you are still in time.

What does DelayFlight24 charge for a Cubana claim?

Nothing upfront. If we recover compensation we keep 25% + VAT: you receive €417 out of €600. Legal costs are ours, even if a court case is lost.

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