Iberia delayed or cancelled flight: your compensation

EU261 covers every Iberia flight departing from an airport in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland. Because Iberia is a European airline, it also covers its flights into those countries from anywhere in the world.

• Iberia holds a Spanish operating licence, so it is a European airline. EU261 covers its flights departing from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, and its flights into those countries from anywhere in the world.
• A flight sold as Iberia may be operated by Iberia Express, Iberia's short- and medium-haul subsidiary, or by Air Nostrum, a separate company that flies as Iberia Regional under IB flight numbers. Both are Spanish airlines, so EU261 applies in the same way. Compensation is owed by the airline that operated the flight, which your booking or boarding pass names as "operated by".
• Unlike most European short-haul airlines, Iberia flies long-haul from Madrid to Latin America and the United States. On flights over 3,500 km the compensation is €600, both leaving the EU and, because Iberia is a European airline, flying into Madrid. On those flights, arriving 3 to 4 hours late gives half the amount, €300; arriving 4 hours or more late gives the full €600.
• Many Iberia journeys change planes in Madrid. If you missed a connection on a single booking, what counts is how late you reached your final destination (Court of Justice of the EU, Folkerts, C-11/11, 2013), and the amount follows the distance from your first departure airport to your final destination (Bossen, C-559/16, 2017).
• In Cirium's independent review of 2025, Iberia was the sixth most punctual airline in the world, with 83.52% of its 188,447 flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule, and Iberia Express was Europe's most punctual airline for the third year running, at 88.94%. Punctuality does not decide your claim: what matters is when your own flight arrived.
• Iberia takes claims through a form on its website, which asks for your booking code and ticket number.

Compensation is usually not due when:

• the flight arrived less than 3 hours late;
• you were told about the cancellation at least 14 days before departure;
• the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken — for example severe weather, air traffic control restrictions, a security risk, or a strike by staff who do not work for the airline;
• the flight is not covered by EU261 (see above).

A technical fault, or a strike by Iberia's own staff, is generally not an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation is usually still due.

If Iberia rejects your claim or does not reply, you can complain to the national enforcement body of the country your flight departed from.

Every EU country has one, as do Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

Or let us handle it: we take your claim to Iberia, and to the enforcement body or to court if needed.