Zakinthos delays on Monday, 17 July 2023
Eurocontrol logged 1,001 minutes of air-traffic arrival delay at Zakinthos that day across 20 arrivals held 15 minutes or more out of 46 (43% of the day's arrivals), with 100% of the delay attributed to atc capacity. That makes it the 11th worst day at Zakinthos since January 2019.
Eurocontrol record · LGZA · 2023-07-17
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
| London Gatwick | 4,146 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Lisbon | 3,256 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International | 2,350 min | ATC capacity |
| Athens | 1,946 min | ATC capacity |
| Amsterdam Schiphol | 1,803 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Warszawa Chopina | 1,713 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Stockholm Arlanda | 940 min | Weather |
| Nice Côte d’Azur | 924 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Heraklion | 700 min | Aerodrome capacity |
Other bad days at Zakinthos
| 16 July 2023 | 2,185 min | ATC capacity |
| 15 July 2023 | 1,883 min | ATC capacity |
| 24 September 2019 | 1,413 min | Weather |
| 31 August 2023 | 1,383 min | ATC capacity |
| 11 July 2023 | 1,176 min | ATC capacity |
| 10 July 2026 | 1,096 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 29 June 2023 | 1,055 min | ATC capacity |
| 20 July 2019 | 1,054 min | ATC staffing |
Questions
My flight from Zakinthos on 17 July 2023 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 Zakinthos' 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 Zakinthos disruption on 17 July 2023 caused by weather?
No. Eurocontrol logged no weather-coded delay at Zakinthos on this day; the delay was attributed to atc capacity.
Does a bad day at Zakinthos 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 Zakinthos.
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 Zakinthos delay days.