Aegean Airlines delay and cancellation compensation

Checked 15 Sep 2026·8 min read · 4 tables

No CAA-approved scheme covers Aegean Airlines, so a UK-departure claim that stalls has one route left: the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, then court. Two separately licensed Greek companies fly the brand, Aegean Airlines S.A. and Olympic Air S.A.; both are Community carriers, so EU261 and UK261 reach arrivals as well as departures, at €250 to €600 or £220 to £520 for landing three hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. A Greek departure escalates to the Hellenic CAA’s passenger-rights section instead.

• EU261 €€250–€600per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
• UK261 ££220–£520per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
• Claim serviceNo win, no feeHand the claim over →

Key facts: Aegean Airlines

Source: EU261 art. 7(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 7(1) — legislation.gov.uk; EC active operating licence list (19/05/2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu; Hellenic CAA, licensed Greek air carriers — hcaa.gov.gr; CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-18.

#EU261 €How much does Aegean Airlines pay under EU261 for a delay of 3 hours or more?

€250 under EU261 is Aegean Airlines' compensation for a short-haul delay of three hours or more, and Athens to Rome’s roughly 1,086 kilometres sits well inside that lowest band, where distance, not the reduction rules that apply far above it, decides the amount.

Distance sets the figure, measured great-circle airport to airport. The Sturgeon reduction that lets a carrier cut a long-haul delay from €600 to €300 reaches only flights outside article 7(2)(a) and 7(2)(b), so a pure short-haul delay pays €250 in full or nothing, decided only by whether the delay clears three hours. Article 7(2)(a) is a separate rule: after a cancellation or denied boarding, Aegean may halve the €250 where the re-routed arrival is no more than two hours late.

An itinerary that does clear 3,500 km follows the top rule instead: €600 in full from four hours late, €300 at Aegean’s own choice below that.

Check your route on the compensation calculator, and read the EU261 hub and its delay compensation guide.

Source: EU261 art. 7(1)-(2), art. 7(4) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07, para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 6(3), 7 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#Which Aegean Airlines flights do EU261 and UK261 cover, and what depends on the licence check?

2 Greek companies, not one, operate the flights sold as Aegean: Aegean Airlines S.A. and Olympic Air S.A. Both hold Community carrier licences, so the regime outcome does not change with the operator. The addressee of your claim does: it is whichever company flew.

Aegean-brand operating companies and their licences

The Hellenic CAA renewed both licences on 18 July 2025, under two separate numbers. Aegean discloses the second company itself: its own check-in, baggage and mileage pages carry flights “operated by Olympic Air”, and its corporate site calls the arrangement a code-share.

That “operated by” line on the booking confirmation, repeated on the boarding pass, names the company a claim has to go to, and a letter to the other one does not stop your deadline running. No register maps routes to either name.

Which rules apply to your Aegean Airlines flight

The table answers for either company: every departure is covered, and an arrival into the EU or the UK unless the country you left already gave you benefits, compensation and assistance.

Not your situation? Canadian routes fall under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, and US domestic disruptions carry no federal compensation, see US DOT rules. Unsure which law fits? Work it out here.

Source: EU261 art. 2(b), 2(c), 3(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 3(1) — legislation.gov.uk; EC active operating licence list (19/05/2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu; Hellenic CAA, list of licensed Greek air carriers — hcaa.gov.gr; Aegean Airlines, travel information (“operated by Olympic Air”) — aegeanair.com, checked 2026-09-18.

#How do you claim compensation from Aegean Airlines directly?

Your flight number, the date and the length of the delay are what Aegean Airlines needs to pay out €250 to €600 for your distance band. Name the company that actually operated the flight, Aegean or Olympic Air, and article 15 stops any tariff clause reducing the figure.

Ask Aegean for a bank transfer and give your account details in the claim itself, because article 7(3) otherwise leaves the form of payment to the airline; the EU261 hub sets out what else it allows and why a voucher counts for nothing until you have signed for it. Note the date you contact Aegean, since that is what starts the eight-week clock if the claim needs to move on to escalation. Reimbursement or re-routing under article 8 runs alongside your fixed article 7 amount, not instead of it, so accepting one of them does not waive your claim to the other.

Source: EU261 art. 3(5), 7(3), 15(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

#Where do you escalate a refused Aegean Airlines claim?

The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority is where a Greek-departure complaint against Aegean Airlines goes once 8 weeks pass with no reply, or Aegean issues a final refusal. A UK-departure complaint instead reaches the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, since no CAA-approved scheme lists Aegean.

PACT needs a written complaint to Aegean first, and its opinion does not bind the airline; the small claims court guide is the only enforceable route; the ADR membership map shows which carriers do have a scheme. Greece names one specific unit for the job instead of splitting it: the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority’s own Passenger Rights and Air Carriers Operating Licensing Section. Any other EU departure uses the matching body on the Commission’s 27 August 2026 list.

#If Aegean Airlines rejects your claim

Extraordinary circumstances remove compensation, not Aegean’s other duties. One passenger reported a cancellation after a Greek air traffic control failure: “my flight back to Switzerland was cancelled due to air traffic control failure (in Greece). The airline (Aegean) offered no compensation or even any support finding alternative flights and accommodation” (u/Advanced-Scholar-629, r/travel, January 2026; a passenger report, not a ruling). Article 5(3) puts the burden on Aegean: it must prove the circumstance and that no reasonable measure would have avoided the cancellation. Articles 8 and 9 keep re-routing and care owed whatever the cause. Ask Aegean directly for the rebooking or reimbursement it still owes, and read what to do when an airline refuses compensation.

Source: CAA, “How the CAA can help” — caa.co.uk; European Commission, national enforcement bodies list (27 August 2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu; EU261 arts. 5(3), 8, 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Still unpaid after PACT or the Hellenic CAA? AirHelp (third-party claim service) can take on rejected or ignored Aegean Airlines claims, no win no fee, and keeps a fee from any payout; Aegean’s own claim channel stays open too.

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#How long do you have to claim against Aegean Airlines?

2 years is the figure to work to on a Greek departure, and it is not the only one Greek law offers. The Aviation Code (L.1815/1988) sets two years for claims arising in carriage; the Civil Code’s residual article 249 sets twenty; nothing has picked between them for an EU261 claim.

Article 155(a) of the Aviation Code is a Warsaw-style provision aimed at damage arising during carriage, and a flat-rate EU261 payment is not obviously that, which is the argument for twenty years instead. No Areios Pagos ruling has resolved the pair, so the Greek deadline is read at its shortest, the way ITA Airways reads Italy’s.

A UK departure has none of that trouble. UK261's own rule sends you to Limitation Act 1980 s.9 and the matching Northern Ireland Order, six years from the flight date, while Scotland’s 1973 Prescription Act extinguishes the obligation after five continuous years with no claim made or acknowledged, still untested against article 3(9).

General information on Aegean Airlines compensation, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, Citizens Advice or a solicitor.

Source: Greek Aviation Code (L.1815/1988) art. 155(a) and Civil Code art. 249 — Greek government codified text, checked 2026-09-18; UK261 art. 3(9), Limitation Act 1980 s.9, Limitation (NI) Order 1989 art. 4 and Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 — legislation.gov.uk; Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• UK261 as it forms part of UK domestic law - legislation.gov.uk.
• European Commission, active operating licence list - transport.ec.europa.eu.
• Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, “List of Licensed Greek Air Carriers” - hcaa.gov.gr.
• Aegean Airlines, travel information (“operated by Olympic Air”) - en.aegeanair.com.
• European Commission, national enforcement bodies list (27 August 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu.
• CAA, “How the CAA can help” - caa.co.uk.
• Greek Aviation Code (L.1815/1988) art. 155(a); Civil Code art. 249 — Greek government official codified text, checked 2026-09-18.
• Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Limitation (NI) Order 1989 art. 4; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 - legislation.gov.uk.
• Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009) - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (2012) - eur-lex.europa.eu.

#FAQ

My Aegean booking says "operated by Olympic Air" - who do I claim from?

Olympic Air S.A. It holds its own Greek Community carrier licence, ΑΠΑ/21633/18-07-2025, renewed on the same day as Aegean Airlines S.A.'s ΑΠΑ/21632. Coverage under EU261 and UK261 is identical either way, but the claim has to name the company printed on the "operated by" line, and a letter to the other one does not stop your deadline running.

A Greek air traffic control failure grounded my flight - is anything still owed?

Compensation, no, if Aegean proves the failure was extraordinary and that no reasonable measure would have avoided the cancellation; article 5(3) puts that burden on the airline. Care and re-routing survive it: meals, a hotel where you are kept overnight, and either a seat on the next available flight or your money back.

Is a short Athens flight worth less than a long-haul delay?

Yes, and the band is fixed. Athens to Rome runs about 1,086 kilometres, inside EU261's lowest band, so a three-hour delay pays €250 in full with no reduced step beneath it, and nothing at all where Aegean proves extraordinary circumstances. Only routes beyond 3,500 kilometres can be cut to €300.