TAP Air Portugal flight compensation: delayed or cancelled

Did you experience a disruption on your flight with TAP Air Portugal? Select the relevant section below to learn about your rights in the event of a delay, cancellation, denied boarding, or missed connection.

TAP Air Portugal counts as an EU/EEA airline, so these rules can apply both to flights departing the EU/EEA and to flights into the EU/EEA that TAP Air Portugal operates. The route and the actual operating carrier always decide a specific case.

As an EU/EEA air carrier, TAP's flights are normally covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 both on departure from the EU/EEA and on arrival in the EU/EEA from a third country, where TAP is the operating air carrier. Which flight is covered is always determined by the route and the carrier actually operating it. Flights marketed by TAP but operated by another carrier are assessed by reference to that operator.

In matters under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, liability always rests with the carrier actually operating the individual flight, not with the marketing carrier.

According to TAP's help page, if your flight is cancelled you are automatically moved to the next flight with available seats, and while you wait the airline offers meals, drinks and, if needed, accommodation. TAP says its platform for delays and cancellations lets you accept or change the alternative, cancel and request a refund, or request a declaration of irregularity as proof. TAP states that expenses considered excessive or disproportionate are not reimbursed, and claims are submitted through the airline's complaints form with, among other things, invoices. TAP's group page describes Portugália as the group's regional carrier operating under the TAP Express brand. The Portuguese authority ANAC says complaints are first sent to the operating carrier and may be forwarded to the authority if there is no reply within six weeks or the reply is unsatisfactory, and that its sanctioning powers do not include determining compensation.