How much compensation for a delayed Iberia flight?
£220 each, if you land 3 hours or more late
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FreePick your airports and the date you flew. We'll list every flight on that route that day.
A few quick questions. No personal details needed.
Iberia is better than most of the 81 airlines flying at UK airports for 3-hour delays.
- Flights a year
- 5,882
- Landed on time
- 79.2%
- Land 3 hours or more late
- 12 a year
Last 12 months, CAA data
What you're owed
Every Iberia route we hold a distance for falls in the same band, so that is the figure. About 12 Iberia flights a year cross that line.
The short answer
Getting compensation from Iberia
If your Iberia flight landed 3 hours or more late, or was cancelled with less than 2 weeks' notice, everyone on the booking may be owed £220 each from Heathrow to Madrid, or about £215 each (€250) from Madrid, when the cause was within Iberia's control. Iberia is a Spanish airline, so flights into the UK are covered as well as flights out.
Is my flight from Madrid to the UK covered?
Yes. Iberia is a Spanish airline, so a late flight into the UK is covered as well as the flight out. Madrid to Heathrow is under 1,500 km, so a delay of 3 hours or more pays about £215 each (€250).
What if I missed my connection in Madrid?
If both flights were on one booking, what counts is how late you reached your final destination. Land 3 hours or more late there and the amount is set by the full distance of the journey, even if the first flight was only a little late. On a long route such as one to Latin America, 4 hours or more late pays £520 each and 3 to 4 hours pays half, £260 each.
Does a cancelled Iberia flight count?
Yes, if you were told less than 2 weeks before the flight. You are owed the same as a long delay unless Iberia offered a replacement close to your original times, or the cause was outside its control. You can also choose a full refund instead of a new flight.
What if a strike caused my Iberia delay?
The CAA lists strikes unrelated to the airline, such as air traffic control or airport staff, as likely outside its control, so those usually mean no fixed payout. A strike by the airline's own staff is not on that list, so it can still pay. Either way, Iberia must still give you food, drink and a hotel if you are stuck overnight.
Watch my flight
Flying soon? We'll watch your flight
If it lands 3 hours or more late we email you what you're owed.
How bad is it
Does Iberia get delayed a lot?
No, less than most. It's better than most of the 81 airlines flying at UK airports, with about 1 flight in 500 landing 3 hours or more late (0.2%).
That works out at about 12 flights a year crossing the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
When is it worst?
June 2026, when Iberia flights ran an average of 14.1 minutes late.
See all the numbers for Iberia
In the last 12 months, Iberia operated 5,882 flights at UK airports, and 0.2% were 3 hours or more late, the threshold where £220 each becomes payable.
Flights are landing on time more often than last year: 79.2% ran on time against 72.4% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 13.2 to 10.5 minutes.
| Iberia, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at UK airports | 5,882 | was 5,935 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 79.2% | ▲ was 72.4% |
| Average delay | 10.5 min | ▼ was 13.2 min |
| 3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) | 0.2% | - |
| Cancelled | 0.4% | - |
| Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) | 12 flights/year | - |
The CAA's figures combine arrivals and departures, so this covers both directions of travel.
Iberia's delays, month by month
Worst month: June 2026, averaging 14.1 minutes.
Where it flies
Iberia at each UK airport
| Airport | Flights | Avg delay | 3 hours or more late | Landed on time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 5,783 | 10.5 min | 0.2% | 79.4% |
From our own tracking
Recent Iberia flights we logged running late
Every Iberia flight we logged running 3 hours or more late, or cancelled, at the airports we sweep since August. Newest first, and only flights UK or EU rules cover. A cancelled row carries no figure because what it pays turns on the notice you were given. Amounts are per person on the booking (half on the longest flights that landed 3 to 4 hours late). Airlines can still dispute a claim by proving the cause was outside their control, so check yours for the real answer. We earn a fee if you claim through a Claim link.
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
5 Oct · due 08:25
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
5 Oct · due 09:30
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
5 Oct · due 14:55
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
4 Oct · due 09:30, landed 12:38
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
4 Oct · due 10:35
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
26 Sept · due 21:45
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
8 Sept · due 16:20
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
8 Sept · due 17:15
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
8 Sept · due 18:15
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
8 Sept · due 19:10
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
6 Sept · due 17:15, landed 21:51
Iberia
Madrid → London Heathrow Airport
6 Sept · due 17:15
Iberia
Orlando → London Gatwick Airport
2 Sept · due 06:35
Iberia
Tampa → London Gatwick Airport
28 Aug · due 08:40
Iberia
Tampa → London Gatwick Airport
26 Aug · due 08:40
Yours in the list? Check it free and we'll tell you what the airline owes you.
The daily log
Iberia delays, day by day
How to claim
Claiming from Iberia
Airlines rarely pay compensation on their own. Nothing happens until someone claims, and plenty of first claims come back refused when the airline blames something outside its control.
The rules do not change with the airline. What decides your claim is where the flight took off and how late it landed, not whose aircraft it was.
Your rights
What the rules turn on
Where the flight leaves from matters most. Anything leaving a UK airport is covered by the UK rules whoever operates it, and anything leaving the EU by the EU's. A flight into the UK or the EU is covered too when a UK or EU airline flies it. A delay of 3 hours or more on arrival pays £220 each on the distances Iberia flies, when the cause was within the airline's control, which covers technical faults, crew shortages and the knock-on from a late inbound aircraft. It pays nothing when the cause was genuinely extraordinary, though airlines stretch that word further than the case law supports, so a refusal on those grounds is worth testing rather than accepting.
Other airlines
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, August 2025 to July 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports. Methodology and limitations.