Ibiza AirportPassenger rights at Ibiza Airport
What you are entitled to if your flight is delayed, cancelled or you are denied boarding, and who to make a claim against.
Delays, cancellations and overbooking
If your flight departs from or arrives at Ibiza Airport and is delayed, cancelled or you are denied boarding, you have rights recognised by the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. It applies to all flights departing from an airport in the European Union, regardless of the airline, and to flights arriving in the EU when operated by an EU airline.
It is a right that is exercised with the airline, not at the airport: Aena manages the infrastructure, not the flights.
What exactly are you entitled to?
Right to care. Once a delay reaches a certain length, the airline must provide food and drink commensurate with the waiting time, updates, and accommodation with transport if the delay requires an overnight stay. This is not dependent on whether the delay is the airline’s fault.
Right to a refund or alternative transport. In the event of long delays or cancellations, you can choose between a refund or being taken to your destination as soon as possible.
Financial compensation. This is the least well-known part, and there’s a catch: it applies to cancellations, denied boarding and long delays on arrival, with the amounts depending on the flight distance, but it does not apply if the cause is an extraordinary circumstance —weather, airspace closures, strikes not involving the airline—. On an island such as Ibiza, where the tourist season is concentrated, weather-related incidents and airspace congestion have a greater impact than at other airports.
How to make a claim. Firstly, in writing to the airline. If they do not reply within the specified time or if you are not satisfied with their response, the relevant authority in Spain is the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). Always keep your boarding pass and any receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only in the event of long delays on arrival, provided the cause is not an extraordinary circumstance. The amount depends on the flight distance. Assistance — food, drink, communication — is provided regardless of the cause.
It’s always the airline’s responsibility. The airport manages the infrastructure; the flight, the delay and your ticket are the airline’s responsibility.
The relevant authority in Spain is AESA, the State Aviation Safety Agency. Before contacting them, you must have made a written complaint to the airline and waited for the response period to elapse.
In the arrivals board and in the one at departures you can see the difference between the scheduled time and the estimated one. For a claim, what counts is the actual time the doors opened, which the airline certifies.