EU261 €How long you have to claim compensation for a flight in Spain

Checked 15 Sep 2026·7 min read

5 years is how long you have to bring an EU261 claim in Spain, counted from the flight date under Spain’s Código Civil. Spain’s aviation regulator repeats the same figure on its own claims page, an agreement this dataset rarely sees. It also states a catch: it will not open a complaint until you have written to the airline first. Below: where the deadline comes from, which flights it covers, who enforces it, and what to do before it runs out.

#EU261 €How long do you have to bring an EU261 claim in Spain?

5 years is Spain’s limitation period for an EU261 claim, set by article 1964.2 of the Código Civil and counted from the flight date. Spain’s aviation regulator, AESA, states the identical figure on its own claims procedure page: two independent sources landing on the same number, which this dataset rarely sees.

That figure is recent. Ley 42/2015 cut Spain’s general civil limitation period from 15 years to 5; before that reform, the Código Civil’s default was 15, and a claims guide written before 2015, or copying one that was, still states that older number. That matters for a passenger searching this online: a 5-year figure and a 15-year figure can both turn up in different guides, and only one matches the statute as it now reads. Article 1964.2 is not aviation-specific. It is Spain’s default period for any personal action without its own special deadline, and an EU261 claim falls under it because Spanish law has no dedicated aviation-claim period of its own.

Source: Código Civil art. 1964.2, as amended by Ley 42/2015 — boe.es; AESA, claims procedure page — seguridadaerea.gob.es, checked 2026-09-18.

Check your flight date now. If it is approaching 5 years old, treat the claim as urgent rather than routine.

#Where does that deadline come from, and what starts the clock?

EU261 sets no deadline of its own: in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012), the CJEU held that the time limit for a compensation claim comes from each Member State’s own rules on limitation of actions. For Spain, that means the 5-year period above, and it runs from the date of the flight, not from when the airline refuses to pay.

A different Spanish statute could confuse the picture. The Ley de Navegación Aérea sets a 6-month period in article 124, but that provision sits inside a chapter headed “liability in case of accident”: it covers death or injury to passengers and loss or damage to luggage or cargo, not a flat-rate EU261 payment for a delay or cancellation. No Tribunal Supremo ruling was found applying or excluding article 124 for an EU261 claim specifically, but the article’s own scope points away from it. EU261 compensation is not a claim “in case of accident”. A reader who lands on article 124 alone, without the context of what it actually covers, could wrongly conclude they have 6 months instead of 5 years.

Source: Código Civil art. 1964.2 — boe.es; CJEU C-139/11, Cuadrench Moré — eur-lex.europa.eu; Ley 48/1960 (Ley de Navegación Aérea) art. 124 — boe.es, checked 2026-09-18.

Count 5 years from your flight date, not from any letter the airline sends you.

#Which flights does Spain’s deadline govern?

Every flight leaving a Spanish airport is covered, on any airline, under article 3(1)(a) of EU261. A flight arriving in Spain from a country outside the EU is covered only if the operating carrier is a Community carrier, licensed in an EU member state. Otherwise Spain’s regime, and its 5-year deadline, does not apply to your flight at all.

Article 16 puts the enforcement side on the same footing as the scope side. Spain’s regulator is competent for a flight leaving a Spanish airport, whatever the airline, and for a flight arriving in Spain from outside the EU on a Community carrier. For a flight into Spain from another EU country, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, AESA points you to the enforcement body of the country the flight left, not to itself.

Not your situation? A flight leaving a UK airport falls under UK261, in pounds, not euros. Routes to, from or within Canada run on the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. Flying in the US? US federal rules differ. Unsure which law fits your flight? Work it out here.

Source: EU261 art. 3(1)(a)-(b), art. 16(1)-(2) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Air Europa, for one, holds a Spanish licence, so its flights into Spain from outside the EU are covered too. Match your route to the airline’s licence before assuming the 5-year deadline applies to your flight.

#Who handles a complaint in Spain, and what can they do?

AESA, Spain’s National Enforcement Body, will not open a complaint until you have sent the airline a written claim first. Article 16 of EU261 gives Spain that body, and AESA adds a prior-claim step on top. If the airline has no claim form of its own, AESA publishes one for you to use, inside the same 5-year window.

AESA’s own division for passenger rights handles the complaint once your prior written claim to the airline has gone unanswered or been refused. Filing with AESA is not the same step as suing in a Spanish court, and it does not itself pay you. It can press the airline, but the 5-year Código Civil period above is the deadline for a court claim, not for AESA’s own process. Nothing on AESA’s pages says a complaint pauses or extends that 5-year clock, so treat the two as running on separate tracks rather than assuming an open complaint protects you. The Commission’s own list names an enforcement body for every EU country, not just Spain’s.

Source: EU261 art. 16(1)-(2) — eur-lex.europa.eu; AESA, claims procedure page — seguridadaerea.gob.es, checked 2026-09-18.

Send your written claim before you contact AESA. It is the condition, not a formality.

#What to do before the deadline runs out

3 steps come before Spain’s 5-year deadline matters: write to the airline first, keep dated proof of that letter, and take an unresolved claim to AESA or a court well before the 5 years are up. AESA supplies its own claim template if the airline offers none, at no cost to you.

Write your claim before you do anything else. State the flight number, the date, what happened and the amount you are owed under EU261. Send it to the airline in writing and keep a copy with the date you sent it. If the airline has no claim form of its own, AESA’s own template covers the same ground and costs nothing to use.

Wait for a reply, but not indefinitely. If the airline refuses or stays silent, take the matter to AESA, or straight to a Spanish court if you would rather skip that step. AESA is not compulsory before suing, only before AESA itself will act. Either way, keep the 5 years in view. A claim too small for a Spanish court on its own may still fit the small claims routes used across Europe, and every country’s own deadline sits side by side on flight compensation time limits.

Rather not chase AESA and a written claim yourself? AirHelp (third-party claim service) can take on a refused or ignored EU261 claim, no win no fee, and keeps a fee from any payout. Writing to the airline and filing with AESA both stay open to you either way.

Do it yourself · freeClaim with the airline, then the regulator

• Write to the airline and keep the reference
• Refused: the enforcement body of the country you left, free
• You keep all of the compensation

Use the claim letter template →

Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee

• They deal with the airline for you
• AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.

Start with AirHelp →Third-party claim service

General information about EU261 claims in Spain, not legal advice. For your specific case: AESA, a Spanish consumer association or a solicitor.

Count 5 years from your flight date, send the written claim now, and do not wait for AESA’s answer to protect that deadline.

#Sources

• Código Civil art. 1964.2, as amended by Ley 42/2015 - boe.es, checked 2026-09-18.
• AESA, claims procedure (“Inicia tu reclamacion con AESA”) - seguridadaerea.gob.es, checked 2026-09-18.
• Ley 48/1960 (Ley de Navegación Aérea), art. 124 - boe.es, checked 2026-09-18.
• AESA, Derechos de los pasajeros (National Enforcement Body) - seguridadaerea.gob.es, checked 2026-09-18.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 3, 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• CJEU C-139/11, Cuadrench Moré - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 27 August 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

How long do I have to claim for a delayed flight from Spain?

5 years from the flight date, under article 1964.2 of Spain's Código Civil. EU261 sets no deadline of its own; the CJEU held in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) that national law fills that gap, and Spain's aviation regulator, AESA, states the same 5-year figure on its own claims page.

Does the UK six-year limit apply to my flight from Spain?

No. Spain gives five years under article 1964.2 of the Código Civil, cut down from fifteen by Ley 42/2015 - which is why older guides still print fifteen. Six years belongs to England and Wales, on a UK departure. AESA will not open a complaint until you have written to the airline first.

Who do I complain to about an airline in Spain?

AESA, the Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea, is Spain's National Enforcement Body for EU261. It will not open a complaint until you have sent the airline a written claim first; AESA publishes its own claim template if the airline offers none, and the process sits inside the same 5-year window.