Helsinki Vantaa delays on Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Eurocontrol logged 1,780 minutes of air-traffic arrival delay at Helsinki Vantaa that day across 43 arrivals held 15 minutes or more out of 292 (15% of the day's arrivals), with 100% of the delay attributed to aerodrome capacity. That makes it the 2nd worst day at Helsinki Vantaa since January 2019.
Eurocontrol record · EFHK · 2019-08-21
Delay codes are Eurocontrol's IATA-standard causes. None of this day's delay sits in the categories airlines usually plead as extraordinary.
Were you on a flight that day?
What this means if your flight was late
Under UK261 and EU261 you are owed £220, £350 or £520 (or €250, €400, €600) per passenger for arriving three hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Airport-wide records like this one are the airline's favourite evidence, and they cut both ways.
- The usual defences have little behind them on this day. The logged cause was aerodrome capacity, which is arguable at best. A refusal citing weather or air traffic control should be answered with this record.
- Cancelled that day? Compensation depends on notice: under 14 days and no close re-routing means it is due, subject to the same extraordinary-circumstances test. You are always owed a refund or re-routing and care while you wait.
- Delayed under three hours? No fixed compensation, but food, drink and communications were owed after two hours on a short flight, and reasonable expenses are recoverable.
The free check pulls your flight's own record (actual arrival time against schedule) and pairs it with this day's data, so the verdict and the letter are specific to your flight, not to the airport.
Other airports the same day
| Athens | 2,401 min | ATC capacity |
| Madrid Barajas | 1,973 min | Weather |
| Zürich | 1,970 min | Weather |
| London Gatwick | 1,535 min | ATC capacity |
| Heraklion | 1,385 min | ATC capacity |
| Rodos | 934 min | ATC staffing |
| Amsterdam Schiphol | 932 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen | 856 min | Weather |
| Stuttgart | 665 min | Weather |
Other bad days at Helsinki Vantaa
| 5 April 2024 | 2,787 min | Weather |
| 20 February 2019 | 1,777 min | Weather |
| 22 April 2024 | 1,759 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 26 August 2019 | 1,679 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 22 January 2020 | 1,648 min | Weather |
| 28 May 2026 | 1,642 min | Weather |
| 4 March 2020 | 1,614 min | Weather |
| 18 October 2019 | 1,595 min | Weather |
Questions
My flight from Helsinki Vantaa on 21 August 2019 was delayed. Can I claim compensation?
If you arrived at your final destination 3 hours or more late, the starting position is £220 to £520 per passenger depending on distance. The airline can refuse only by proving extraordinary circumstances that affected your specific flight. Eurocontrol's record for this day does not show the kind of cause airlines usually plead, so a refusal on those grounds would be weak. Run the free check on your flight number for the verified answer.
Was the Helsinki Vantaa disruption on 21 August 2019 caused by weather?
No. Eurocontrol logged no weather-coded delay at Helsinki Vantaa on this day; the delay was attributed to aerodrome capacity.
Does a bad day at Helsinki Vantaa mean every delayed flight is exempt from compensation?
No. Air-traffic delay attributed to an airport explains some of the day's lateness, not all of it, and it is the airline that must prove your flight's delay was caused by it and could not have been avoided with reasonable measures such as schedule buffers and spare aircraft. Flights delayed by a technical fault, crew shortage or a late inbound aircraft from an unaffected airport are compensable regardless of what happened at Helsinki Vantaa.
Sources: Eurocontrol Performance Review Unit, airport arrival ATFM delay by cause (daily); METAR observations via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive. This page describes the airport's day; your flight's own record decides your claim. All Helsinki Vantaa delay days.