Vueling cancelled your flight: refund, rebooking and compensation
Reviewed by José Romero Lara
EU261 aviation lawyer — 5+ years as in-house legal counsel at international airlines
When Vueling cancels a flight you’re entitled to get your money back or reach your destination, to assistance while you wait and, in many cases, to cash compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004. This guide explains what to ask for, how to claim on vueling.com and what to do if it doesn’t reply.
Did Vueling cancel your flight?
Check for free whether you’re owed compensation. Nothing to pay upfront.
Check my flight1What Vueling owes you for the cancellation
Your rights after a cancellation
Refund or alternative flight
Your choice: the ticket price within 7 days, or reaching your destination (Art. 8)
Assistance
Food and drink, communications and a hotel with transfers if you stay overnight (Art. 9)
Compensation
If it told you less than 14 days ahead and can’t prove extraordinary circumstances (Arts. 5 and 7)
Vueling vouchers
The refund is paid in money, the way you paid. It can only be a voucher if you accept one in writing: you don’t have to.
2How much compensation you’re owed
EU261 compensation per passenger
Up to 1,500 km
Barcelona–Madrid, Barcelona–Paris, Barcelona–Rome
Over 1,500 km within the EU, or 1,500–3,500 km
Barcelona–Tenerife, Barcelona–Athens
Over 3,500 km outside the EU
Vueling operates few routes this long
3When Vueling doesn’t have to pay compensation
It told you 14 days or more in advance
You keep the right to a refund or an alternative flight, but not to compensation.
It told you 7 to 14 days ahead
No compensation if the replacement flight departed no more than 2 hours early and arrived less than 4 hours late.
It told you less than 7 days ahead
No compensation if the replacement departed no more than 1 hour early and arrived less than 2 hours late.
Proven extraordinary circumstances
Weather that makes flying unsafe or air traffic control decisions, if Vueling proves it. Assistance is still owed.
A strike by Vueling’s own staff or a reshuffle of its fleet are not extraordinary circumstances: compensation is owed in those cases (CJEU, C-28/20).
4How to claim from Vueling, step by step
- 1
Keep the cancellation notice
With the date it was sent: that’s what decides whether you’re owed compensation.
- 2
Choose refund or rebooking
Tell Vueling in writing. If you take the alternative flight, keep its details: the arrival time decides whether compensation is halved.
- 3
File the claim on vueling.com
In the customer service section, with your booking reference, flight number and date, when you were told and the amount you’re claiming. Keep the case number.
- 4
Wait one month
If it doesn’t reply or rejects the claim, you can complain free of charge to AESA when the flight departed Spain or arrived in Spain from outside the EU.
- 5
Escalate: AESA, court or AviFly
You can sue without a lawyer up to €2,000 or let AviFly handle the claim: 15% + VAT out of court and 30% + VAT in court, only if you get paid.
AviFly claims from Vueling for you
Nothing upfront. We only charge if you get your money.
Claim from VuelingFrequently asked questions
Can Vueling give me a voucher instead of a refund?
Only if you accept one in writing. You can refuse and demand the ticket price back in money within 7 days (Art. 8 of the Regulation).
What if the cancellation was due to a Vueling pilots’ strike?
A strike by the airline’s own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance (CJEU, C-28/20), so you’re owed compensation on top of the refund or rebooking.
What if Vueling cites operational reasons or a fleet change?
Reorganising its own operation is not an extraordinary circumstance. Ask in writing for the specific cause and its evidence.
How long does Vueling take to settle a claim?
There’s no fixed legal deadline. If it hasn’t replied within a month, you can go to AESA or to court.
How long do I have to claim for a cancellation?
In Spain the generally accepted time limit is 5 years from the flight (Art. 1964 of the Spanish Civil Code).
Can I ask for the refund and the compensation together?
Yes. They are separate rights: the refund returns the ticket price and the compensation is a fixed amount for the disruption.