LEVEL compensation: up to €600 for delays and cancellations
LEVEL is IAG's low-cost long-haul airline, based at Barcelona-El Prat and flying across the Atlantic to the United States, Argentina and Chile. We have already handled claims for more than 250 LEVEL passengers, mostly on the Buenos Aires, Santiago, New York and Los Angeles routes. If your flight landed 3 or more hours late, was cancelled at short notice or left without you because it was full, you could be owed up to €600 per passenger, on top of any ticket refund.
LEVEL is a Spanish airline holding an EU licence, so Regulation (EC) 261/2004 protects you in both directions: on Barcelona–New York leaving Europe, and on Los Angeles–Barcelona or Santiago–Barcelona flying into it.
Delay
You reached your final destination at least 3 hours after the time on your booking.
3+ hours on arrivalCancellation
LEVEL told you less than two weeks before departure and the new flight did not keep to similar times.
Under 14 days' noticeBumped from the flight
The aircraft was full and you were refused boarding despite a confirmed seat and valid travel documents.
Owed on the spotWhen nothing is owed
Only if LEVEL proves something outside its control, such as a major storm or an air traffic control strike.
Extraordinary circumstancesEnter your airports and travel date and we will tell you in a couple of minutes. Check your LEVEL flight.
How much compensation LEVEL pays on transatlantic routes
Every route LEVEL currently flies is longer than 3,500 km, so claims almost always fall into the top band, whatever the fare.
| Distance | LEVEL routes we see most | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | None on the current network | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | None on the current network | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | Buenos Aires–Barcelona, Barcelona–Santiago, New York–Barcelona, Los Angeles–Barcelona | €600 |
From 3 hours, the full €600 applies. A family of four on Barcelona–Buenos Aires landing 5 hours late could therefore claim €2,400. Children with their own seat count as full passengers.
Delayed LEVEL flight: what to do while you wait
More than half of the LEVEL claims we handle are about delays. The clock stops when the aircraft door opens at your destination, not at touchdown, and on a 12-hour flight a few minutes can decide whether you are owed compensation at all. At the airport:
- Keep your boarding pass, paper or in your phone wallet.
- Screenshot every message from LEVEL giving a reason for the delay.
- Note the time the doors opened on arrival.
- Ask for receipts for food, taxis or a hotel if no one looked after you.
- Turn down vouchers offered instead of cash until you know what you are owed.
Meals and hotel during the wait
Care is owed even when the delay is down to bad weather. If departure slips to the next day, LEVEL must also provide a hotel and transfers.
| Flight | Care after |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | 2 hours |
| 1,500–3,500 km | 3 hours |
| Over 3,500 km (all current LEVEL flights) | 4 hours |
| Delay of 5 hours or more | You may abandon the trip and get your fare back |
Missed connection in Barcelona
Plenty of passengers arriving from Buenos Aires or Santiago carry on to London, Paris or Rome. On a single booking, what counts is the delay at your final destination, and distance runs from the first airport to the last. With separate tickets, the LEVEL flight is assessed alone. Read more about compensation for a delayed LEVEL flight.
Cancelled LEVEL flight: refund and compensation
Taking the replacement flight LEVEL offers does not cancel your right to compensation if the notice was short.
Always yours: choose between your money back and travelling on another flight.
Added on top when the cancellation was announced less than 14 days before departure.
| Notice given | Compensation |
|---|---|
| 14 days or more | No; refund or rerouting only |
| 7 to 13 days | Yes, unless the new flight left no more than 2 hours earlier and arrived less than 4 hours late |
| Under 7 days | Yes, unless the new flight left no more than 1 hour earlier and arrived less than 2 hours late |
Retimed flights. If LEVEL moved your departure by several hours shortly before travel, the EU Court of Justice may treat it as a cancellation. See our page on refunds for a cancelled LEVEL flight or check your case now.
LEVEL overbooking and denied boarding
Around 15 in every 100 LEVEL claims we receive involve passengers left at the gate, often on packed summer and Christmas departures. If you were there on time with a confirmed booking, compensation is due straight away, together with a new flight or a refund.
It is not owed if the reason lay with you: an expired passport, no ESTA for the United States, or reaching the gate after it closed. Our guide on LEVEL overbooking and denied boarding covers the details.
LEVEL strikes: who walked out matters
Since LEVEL began flying under its own operating certificate, its pilots and cabin crew are its own employees. When their strike disrupts your flight, compensation is normally payable, because the EU Court of Justice sees it as part of the airline's ordinary business (case C-28/20). An air traffic control strike is different: no compensation, but care and rerouting still apply.
LEVEL rejected your claim? Common reasons and the law
LEVEL's refusals nearly always cite "extraordinary circumstances". Here is how the courts tend to view them.
A fault that appears in normal operation is the airline's own risk, not an extraordinary event.
EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07With a small fleet, a late outbound leg drags the return flight with it. That alone does not excuse LEVEL.
LEVEL crew: usually payable. Air traffic controllers or airport staff: not payable.
EU Court of Justice, case C-28/20Snow in New York can justify a delay only if it really hit your flight at that time. We check the actual records.
LEVEL, Iberia and the closed Vienna and Paris bases
Until late 2025, LEVEL flights from Barcelona were operated by Iberia under IB flight numbers. Since December 2025 LEVEL has flown as an independent airline with its own LL code. Claims go to whoever operated the flight, so an older booking with an IB number is claimed from Iberia, and we handle that for you.
The Vienna and Paris-Orly operations that used the LEVEL brand, run by other companies, shut down in 2020.
How to claim from LEVEL: on your own or with us
You can claim free of charge through the customer service area of flylevel.com, quoting your booking reference, flight number and passenger names.
It costs nothing, but you deal with LEVEL's replies yourself. If it refuses, you can turn to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed, or to the courts, at your own expense.
Two minutes to fill in the form and an online signature. We handle the claim, formal demand and court action with our own lawyers. You pay only if you win: 25% + VAT.
Already turned down by LEVEL?
Send us the reply you received: if the reason does not stand up, we reopen the case with a formal letter before action.
Documents you need
- Booking or boarding passA photo or screenshot is fine.
- PassportFor each traveller, children included.
- LEVEL's messagesDelay or cancellation notices and expense receipts.
Time limit for a LEVEL claim
The Regulation sets no deadline: national law in the country where you claim decides, as the EU Court of Justice confirmed (case C-139/11). Spain, where LEVEL is based, is one place a claim can be brought. Even a trip to Argentina a few years ago may still qualify: enter the date.
How long LEVEL takes to pay
If LEVEL accepts the claim, payment usually arrives within a few weeks. If we need a formal demand or court action in Spain, allow a few months. You get an email update at each stage, and your share is transferred as soon as the airline pays.
Lost or damaged luggage on LEVEL
Baggage falls under the Montreal Convention rather than EU 261. If your case does not appear on the belt, fill in a PIR at the baggage desk before leaving. Then write to LEVEL within 7 days for damage, or within 21 days of delivery for a delayed bag.
LEVEL contact details and flight status
- Head office
- LEVEL, IAG group, Viladecans (Barcelona), Spain
- Claims
- Customer service area on flylevel.com
- Flight status
- flylevel.com
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