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✓ You only pay if you get compensation✓ Up to €600 per passenger✓ EC Regulation 261/2004
Aer LingusDelay · Cancellation · Overbooking

Aer Lingus compensation: up to €600 per passenger

Aer Lingus 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
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Choose departure and arrival: we will show you right away how much you are owed.
  • Data protected
  • Nothing upfront
  • You only pay if we win
  • Transparent feeOnly 25% + VAT and only if Aer Lingus pays: out of €400 you receive €278.
  • All the way to courtIf Aer Lingus does not pay, our lawyers take the airline to court, at no extra cost to you.
  • Claims handled87,774 passengers have already trusted usupdated in real time

In short

  • Delay: if you arrive 3 hours or more late, Aer Lingus 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 Aer Lingus pays, you keep €173.75 out of €250 or €278 out of €400.

Aer Lingus claims in numbers

Figures from the Aer Lingus claims we have handled for our customers, updated daily.

201Aer Lingus passengers have trusted us
56%of claims concern delayed flights
37%concern cancelled flights
6%concern overbooking and denied boarding

Aer Lingus routes with the most claims

Aer Lingus routes with the most claims
RoutekmOwed
MálagaDublin1,869400 €Check
DublinLondon449250 €Check
LisbonDublin1,644400 €Check
BelfastGlasgow167250 €Check
DublinBoston4,808600 €Check
DublinLisbon1,644400 €Check
ManchesterDublin265250 €Check
WashingtonDublin5,469600 €Check

Amount per person for arrival delays of at least 3 hours, cancellations with less than 14 days' notice and overbooking, unless there were extraordinary circumstances.

Aer Lingus compensation: when you are owed €250, €400 or €600

Aer Lingus is Ireland's flag carrier, now part of International Airlines Group (IAG) and based at Dublin Airport. We have handled more than 130 Aer Lingus claims, from short hops such as Dublin–London and Dublin–Milan to sun routes from Málaga and Lisbon and transatlantic flights from Washington and Orlando. A three-hour arrival delay, a late cancellation or being bumped can be worth €250 to €600 per passenger.

As an Irish airline, Aer Lingus is an EU carrier. Regulation (EC) 261/2004 covers every Aer Lingus flight leaving the EU and also flights landing in Dublin or elsewhere in the EU from the United States or the UK.

Delay

You reach your final destination three hours or more late, including on flights from New York or Orlando.

3 hours or more

Cancellation

Aer Lingus told you less than 14 days before and the replacement misses the legal time limits.

Under 14 days' notice

Bumped

Valid ticket, at the gate on time, but left behind because the flight was full.

Owed immediately

When not

Genuine extraordinary circumstances, such as an Atlantic storm or an air traffic control strike. Aer Lingus must prove them.

Outside events

Check your Aer Lingus flight in two minutes.

How much Aer Lingus pays, from Europe to the Atlantic

Aer Lingus spans all three bands: Dublin is barely an hour from London but six to eight hours from the US east coast. The fare you paid makes no difference.

Distance Aer Lingus routes Amount
Up to 1,500 km Dublin–London, Dublin–Milan €250
1,500 to 3,500 km Málaga–Dublin, Lisbon–Dublin €400
Over 3,500 km Washington–Dublin, Orlando–Dublin €600

Each passenger has their own claim. A family of four flying home from Orlando and landing in Dublin three hours or more late can claim €2,400; children with their own seat receive the same as adults.

Aer Lingus flight delayed: what to do straight away

More than half of the Aer Lingus claims we manage involve a delay. Many European flights into Dublin are timed to feed the US departures, so an hour lost on the first leg can cost you the transatlantic connection. The doors opening at your final destination is what counts. Meanwhile:

  1. Save your boarding pass from the Aer Lingus app or on paper.
  2. Note what announcements and staff say about the cause.
  3. Screenshot the flight status showing the actual arrival time.
  4. Keep receipts for meals, transfers and any night in a Dublin hotel.
  5. Don't take vouchers or Avios in place of cash before you know what you are owed.

Care: meals, drinks and hotel

While you wait, Aer Lingus must provide meals and refreshments and, if you leave the next day, a hotel with transfers.

Distance After
Up to 1,500 km 2 hours
1,500 to 3,500 km 3 hours
Over 3,500 km 4 hours
Delay of at least 5 hours You can give up the trip and have the fare refunded

Missed connection in Dublin

If you were flying, say, Milan–Dublin–Boston on one booking and reached Boston three hours or more late, compensation is based on the whole distance: €600. US border checks take place in Dublin before boarding (preclearance), which makes tight transfers tighter still. On separate tickets each flight stands alone. More on our Aer Lingus delay compensation page.

Does your Aer Lingus flight qualify?Check in 2 minutes, with no obligation.
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Aer Lingus flight cancelled: refund and compensation

Over a third of our Aer Lingus cases stem from a cancellation, a high share. A refund and compensation are two separate rights: you can have both.

Refund or alternative flight

After a cancellation, you always choose between your money back and re-routing.

€250 to €600 compensation

On top, if you were told less than 14 days ahead.

Notice Compensation
14 days or more Not owed; refund or re-routing remain
7 to 13 days Owed, unless the alternative departs no more than 2 hours early and arrives within 4 hours of the original time
Under 7 days Owed, unless the alternative departs no more than 1 hour early and arrives within 2 hours of the original time

Rescheduled flights. If Aer Lingus moves your flight by several hours a few days before departure, the EU Court of Justice may treat it as a cancellation. Check whether you are owed compensation and read our Aer Lingus cancelled flight page.

Aer Lingus overbooking

About 6 in 100 of our Aer Lingus cases are denied boarding, often on busy flights such as Dublin–London Heathrow. If you are kept off against your will, compensation is owed at once, alongside another flight or a refund. If you volunteered to give up your seat for agreed benefits, that agreement applies instead. See our guide to Aer Lingus overbooking.

The 2024 Aer Lingus pilots' dispute and other strikes

In late June 2024 Aer Lingus pilots began a work-to-rule, refusing overtime, and added an eight-hour strike; the airline cancelled hundreds of flights. This is exactly the kind of disruption where compensation is normally due, because a strike by the airline's own staff is not extraordinary (case C-28/20). Notice still matters: cancellations announced 14 days or more ahead do not qualify. Air traffic controllers' strikes, by contrast, are outside the airline's control.

Aer Lingus rejected your claim? How to respond

Usually payable
"Aircraft technical issue"

Faults and maintenance are part of Aer Lingus's normal operations and do not justify refusing payment.

EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07
Usually payable
"Pilot industrial action"

Strikes by Aer Lingus employees are part of the airline's business risk.

EU Court of Justice, case C-28/20
It depends
"Air traffic control decision"

Real ATC restrictions can rule compensation out, but Aer Lingus has to show they caused your flight's delay.

Often not payable
"Storm in Ireland"

Atlantic storms that shut Dublin are extraordinary, provided they hit your flight at that time.

Has Aer Lingus already said no? We test the reason against the flight data and, if it fails, follow up with a formal demand and court action. Check your Aer Lingus flight.

Aer Lingus Regional and Emerald Airlines

Flights sold as Aer Lingus Regional, using ATR turboprops between Ireland and the UK, are operated by Emerald Airlines under a franchise. The claim goes to the operating airline, but your rights are identical: just enter Aer Lingus on our form.

Aer Lingus flights from the US and the UK

Because Aer Lingus is an EU airline, you are also protected on flights into Ireland from outside the EU:

  • transatlantic flights from cities such as Washington, Orlando, New York or Boston to Dublin
  • flights from London and other UK airports to Ireland

Departures from the UK are also covered by the UK rules, overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority, with amounts in pounds: we tell you which works out better.

How to claim from Aer Lingus: on your own or with us

You can submit a request through the online forms in the help section of aerlingus.com, with your booking reference and flight number.

On your own

No cost, but you follow the correspondence and handle any refusal. After that you can go to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed or the civil courts, at your own expense.

With DelayFlight24

Sign online and we run the claim, formal demand and court case with our own lawyers. You pay only if you are paid: 25% + VAT. From €600 you keep €417, from €400 €278, from €250 €173.75. Legal costs are ours even if we lose.

Already refused by Aer Lingus

Forward us the reply: if the reason given does not hold, we start again with a formal letter before action.

Documents to prepare

  • Booking and boarding passDigital copies from the app are fine.
  • Passport or IDFor every passenger, children included.
  • Aer Lingus emails and textsDelay or cancellation notices and receipts.

Time limits

The deadline is set not by the Regulation but by the law of the country where you claim (EU Court of Justice, case C-139/11). Enter your flight date and we will tell you whether you are in time.

When Aer Lingus pays out

If Aer Lingus accepts, payment usually arrives within a few weeks. With a formal demand or court case it takes several months. We transfer your share as soon as it is received.

Lost or damaged baggage with Aer Lingus

Baggage is governed by the Montreal Convention. Fill in a PIR before leaving the airport, then send a written claim within 7 days for damage and within 21 days of delivery if the bag arrived late.

Aer Lingus contact details and flight status

Head office
Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport, Ireland
Complaints
Online forms in the help section of aerlingus.com
Flight status
Aer Lingus app or aerlingus.com
Paid first, then you pay us. No upfront cost and legal costs on us whatever happens. Check your Aer Lingus flight.

What if Aer Lingus 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.

Aer Lingus compensation: frequently asked questions

How much does Aer Lingus pay for a delayed flight?
It depends on distance: €250 on routes such as Dublin–Milan or Dublin–London, €400 on Málaga–Dublin or Lisbon–Dublin, and €600 on transatlantic flights such as Washington–Dublin or Orlando–Dublin. You need to arrive at least three hours late and the cause must not be extraordinary.
My Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin landed five hours late. Am I covered?
Yes. Aer Lingus is an Irish, and therefore EU, airline, so Regulation 261/2004 also covers its flights arriving in the EU from outside, including from the US. At that distance you are owed €600 per passenger.
My flights were cancelled during the 2024 Aer Lingus pilots' dispute. Can I still claim?
Often, yes. A strike by the airline's own staff is not extraordinary under case C-28/20. What matters is when you were told: if the cancellation was announced less than 14 days before departure, compensation is normally due. Enter the date and we will check whether you are still in time.
My flight was Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Emerald Airlines. Who do I claim from?
From the operating airline, but your rights are the same. Just enter Aer Lingus on our form and we will identify the right company.
I missed my US connection in Dublin. What am I owed?
If it was one booking, for example Milan–Dublin–Boston, and you reached your destination three hours or more late, compensation is based on the full distance: €600 per passenger. On separate tickets only the delayed flight counts.
I flew Aer Lingus from London to Dublin. Which rules apply?
Both the EU Regulation, because Aer Lingus is an EU airline landing in the EU, and the UK rules for departures from the UK. You cannot be paid twice, but we tell you which works out better.
Aer Lingus offered me a voucher or Avios. Should I accept?
You do not have to. Compensation under the Regulation is paid in money unless you agree in writing to something else. Check what you are owed before deciding.
How long do I have to claim against Aer Lingus?
The Regulation sets no deadline: it depends on the law of the country where you claim, as the EU Court of Justice confirmed in case C-139/11. Give us your flight date and we will tell you whether you are in time.
What does DelayFlight24 charge for an Aer Lingus claim?
Nothing upfront. If Aer Lingus pays, we keep 25% + VAT: you receive €173.75 from €250, €278 from €400 and €417 from €600. We pay any legal costs, even if the case is lost.

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Aer Lingus flight delayed or cancelled?

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