Heraklion delays on Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Eurocontrol logged 1,385 minutes of air-traffic arrival delay at Heraklion that day across 36 arrivals held 15 minutes or more out of 160 (23% of the day's arrivals), with 100% of the delay attributed to atc capacity. That makes it the 116th worst day at Heraklion since January 2019.
Eurocontrol record · LGIR · 2019-08-21
Delay codes are Eurocontrol's IATA-standard causes. 100% of this day's delay sits in categories airlines usually plead as extraordinary circumstances.
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.
- Expect the airline to cite atc capacity. That is a real argument on this day, but it only covers delay actually caused by it. The airline must show the link to your flight and that it had reserve time and spare aircraft in place (Eglītis v Air Baltic). A flight that left late because the inbound aircraft was stuck on a technical fault is compensable whatever the weather did.
- 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 |
| Helsinki Vantaa | 1,780 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| London Gatwick | 1,535 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 Heraklion
| 16 October 2022 | 6,619 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 15 October 2022 | 4,834 min | Weather |
| 15 August 2021 | 2,833 min | ATC capacity |
| 10 August 2025 | 2,650 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 22 August 2021 | 2,578 min | ATC capacity |
| 8 August 2026 | 2,576 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 21 August 2021 | 2,542 min | ATC capacity |
| 22 August 2026 | 2,483 min | Aerodrome capacity |
Questions
My flight from Heraklion 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. On this day Eurocontrol attributed 100% of Heraklion's air-traffic delay to atc capacity, so expect that argument; it still has to be linked to your flight. Run the free check on your flight number for the verified answer.
Was the Heraklion disruption on 21 August 2019 caused by weather?
No. Eurocontrol logged no weather-coded delay at Heraklion on this day; the delay was attributed to atc capacity.
Does a bad day at Heraklion 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 Heraklion.
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 Heraklion delay days.