Air traffic control delays and compensation: if your flight was held by an "ATC slot", the airline can only refuse the €250, €400 or €600 compensation if it proves that the air traffic control restriction really caused the delay and that it did everything reasonable to keep it short. Often that is not the case: the slot comes after delays the airline caused itself, or it explains only part of the hours you lost. Care at the airport and a refund of your ticket are owed in every case.
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What an ATC slot is and how many delays it really causes
When more aircraft are due in a block of airspace or at an airport than controllers can safely handle, Europe's network manager gives flights a new take-off time: the slot. The aircraft waits on the ground until its turn comes.
The figures put that excuse in perspective. In 2024 the average flight in Europe left 17.5 minutes late: only 2.3 of those minutes, around 13%, came from en-route air traffic control restrictions, and over a third of that was due to weather. The biggest share, 46% of delay minutes, was knock-on delay: aircraft leaving late because they had arrived late from the previous flight. In summer 2025 air traffic flow restrictions averaged 3.9 minutes per flight, with the worst bottlenecks in the Barcelona, Marseille and Karlsruhe control centres and staff shortages mainly in France and Greece, many of them on the routes Irish and British holidaymakers take to the sun.
When an ATC slot is an extraordinary circumstance
Regulation (EC) 261/2004 says so in its recitals: an air traffic management decision about a particular aircraft on a particular day, which causes a long delay or the cancellation of one or more flights by that aircraft, can be an extraordinary circumstance, provided the airline took all reasonable measures. Typical examples are:
- an air traffic controllers' strike, like those listed in our European ATC strikes calendar;
- the closure of an airspace or a failure of air traffic control systems;
- severe weather restrictions en route or at the airport, imposed for safety;
- a sudden shortage of controllers that cuts the capacity of a sector, if it hits your flight directly.
Even then, the burden of proof is on the airline: it must name the specific restriction, the slot time and what it did to limit the disruption. A vague line such as "operational reasons" is not enough.
When compensation is still owed
A slot does not wipe out your rights automatically. These are the most common cases where the airline blames air traffic control but compensation is still due:
| What happened | Extraordinary circumstance? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A 45-minute slot, but you land 4 hours late | Usually not | The slot explains only part of the delay: the rest must be justified by other causes |
| Slot missed because the aircraft was already late after a technical fault or a crew shortage | No | The real cause is the airline's own problem, part of its normal operations |
| Knock-on delay from earlier flights, with no extraordinary event | No | Tight rotations are the airline's choice |
| Strike by the airline's own staff | No | Confirmed by the EU Court of Justice (case C-28/20) |
| Air traffic controllers' strike affecting your flight | Usually yes | An outside event beyond the airline's control |
| Weather restriction on your flight's route | Often yes | If the airline proves the direct link with your delay |
What matters is the link between the slot and the hours of delay on arrival. For compensation, the time that counts is when the doors open at your destination, not when you take off: if you arrive 3 hours or more late and the slot explains only one of them, the airline has to justify the rest. For other reasons airlines give, read our guide to extraordinary circumstances.
What you get in any case
Even when the slot really is an extraordinary circumstance, the airline still has duties:
- Care: meals and refreshments from a 2-hour delay on flights up to 1,500 km (3 or 4 hours on longer ones), two phone calls or emails and, if you fly the next day, a hotel and transport;
- Refund: after 5 hours you can give up the flight and get your ticket refunded;
- Rerouting or a refund if the flight is cancelled.
Where compensation is due, it is €250 up to 1,500 km (such as Dublin–London), €400 from 1,500 to 3,500 km (such as Dublin–Tenerife) and €600 over 3,500 km outside the EU (such as Dublin–New York). Our guide on what you are entitled to after a 3-hour delay goes through it hour by hour.
Air traffic control delay: what to do step by step
- Note what you are told at the gate and on board: "slot", "ATC restrictions", "strike", "weather". Write it down at the time.
- Take a photo of the departures board and keep your boarding pass and the airline's messages.
- Check whether other flights left normally from the same airport to the same region: if they did, the restriction may not have affected your flight.
- Note your real arrival time, when the doors open: that is what counts for the 3 hours.
- Ask for care and keep receipts for anything you pay for yourself.
- If the airline replies "air traffic control", ask in writing which restriction, what time the slot was and why the aircraft was already late before it.
If the slot was caused by a strike, our guide to airline strikes and passenger rights explains who pays and when.
How to check whether you are owed compensation
Working out whether a slot really covers a 3 or 4-hour delay needs data on the flight and the aircraft's earlier rotations that passengers rarely have. With DelayFlight24 you can check in 2 minutes, free, whether you are owed flight delay compensation: we review the airline's answer, ask for the details and, if needed, take it to court. Nothing to pay upfront, and you only pay 25% + VAT if you get compensated.
Frequently asked questions about air traffic control delays
Does an ATC slot always rule out compensation?
No. It only does if the airline proves that the air traffic control restriction caused the delay of 3 hours or more and that it took all reasonable measures. Care and a ticket refund are still owed.
The airline just says "ATC restrictions": is that enough?
No. A generic phrase proves nothing. You can ask which restriction applied, what time the slot was and how much of the delay it caused.
My plane was already late and then missed its slot: am I entitled to compensation?
Usually yes, if the first delay was the airline's own doing, such as a technical fault or missing crew: the lost slot is a consequence, not the cause.
Do I get anything during an air traffic controllers' strike?
Yes: care, and a refund or rerouting if the flight is cancelled. Compensation normally not, because a controllers' strike is treated as an extraordinary circumstance.
Other flights left on time: can I still challenge the refusal?
Yes, it is a useful clue. If the restrictions hit a sector your flight did not cross, or a different time window, the airline will have to explain why your flight in particular built up so much delay.
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Find out more
- Air passenger rights
- Delayed flight: when you can claim compensation
- Cancelled flight: refund and compensation
- Overbooking: what you are owed
- What our service costs
Article updated on 03/11/2026 by the DelayFlight24 editorial team.