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Vueling said no to your compensation claim

Updated
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.

Your Vueling flight between Barcelona and Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo or another Nordic airport was hours late or cancelled, and Vueling said no. Or it never answered. A rejection is the airline's view, not a ruling. Vueling has to prove its reason, and authorities have caught it sending standard rejections before.

We are not affiliated with Vueling and do not act for Vueling.

Which rules apply to Vueling

Vueling Airlines SA is a Spanish airline in the IAG group, which also owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus. Its hub is Barcelona–El Prat. As an EU airline, Vueling is covered by Regulation 261/2004 on flights out of the Nordics and on flights back. If you arrived 3 hours or more late, compensation is €250, €400 or €600 per passenger, depending on distance. Vueling's own help centre gives the same amounts.

Vueling's site lists Copenhagen, Stockholm Arlanda, Oslo, Tromsø, Rovaniemi and Ivalo as Nordic destinations. Bookings with a change in Barcelona count as one journey: the delay is measured at your final destination. See missed connection.

What Vueling says, and what the rules say back

Weather and air traffic control. These are the examples Vueling's help centre gives for no compensation. Weather is not automatically extraordinary. In a Lanzarote–Zurich case, a commercial court in Barcelona rejected Vueling's weather defence: its wind certificate was not objective, and it could not name another flight cancelled that day for the same reason. The passengers got €400 each (La Voz de Lanzarote, 19 July 2021). Ask for the weather data for your airport and time, and which other flights Vueling checked. See ATC restrictions.

"External strikes." Vueling's passenger-rights leaflet lists external strikes as extraordinary. A strike by Vueling's own staff is not (Airhelp v SAS C-28/20). Vueling's cabin crew did strike, on set days from November 2022 to January 2023, and flights from Barcelona were cancelled (Catalan News, 28 November 2022). Ask who was striking. See strike cancellation.

A standard no. In January 2016 the Dutch aviation authority found that Vueling "consistently denies passengers compensation" with a standard rejection, without proving extraordinary circumstances (ECC-Net Italy, 15 January 2016). If your rejection is two generic lines, ask for the delay code and the evidence.

"Your payment never reached us." A family on Oslo–Barcelona–Bilbao, ticketed by Iberia, was refused at check-in because the money had not passed from Iberia to Vueling. Norway's Transportklagenemnda found it was denied boarding and awarded €400 each, payable by Vueling as the operating airline (flysmart24, 16 March 2024). See denied boarding.

How to claim from Vueling

Does Vueling follow the boards?

Not always. In 2018 Vueling ignored a Bergen–Barcelona claim, and after Norway's board awarded the family about NOK 16,000, Vueling said it would not follow the decision (flysmart24, 2 October 2018). In July 2021 it was on the board's list of airlines refusing to pay after decisions against them. In Sweden, Råd & Rön's black list had Vueling third in February 2020 and third again in February 2021, with 14 cases. It is not named in the list summaries from August 2025 to August 2026. Build your file so it can go to court.

Step by step

  1. Claim through the compensation chat if you have not yet. If you have a rejection, reply in writing: claim the amount per passenger in money, and ask for the delay code, the timeline and the evidence.
  2. Wait for the answer: about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark. See airline not responding.
  3. Go to the board for the country where the disruption happened. Vueling is Spanish, so in Finland contact ECC Finland before KRIL. In Sweden, ARN may decline a non-resident's complaint about a non-Swedish airline; then use the ECC in your own country. Transportklagenemnda takes any flight to, from or within Norway, via www.reiselivsforum.no. In Denmark, use Trafikstyrelsen with MitID. A flight from Barcelona goes to the Spanish authority, and your own country's ECC helps for free. See the Nordic complaint boards.
  4. Court if Vueling ignores the decision.

When it is worth it, and when not

Strong: a generic rejection, weather with no data for your flight, a strike by Vueling's own crew, and a refusal at check-in over a payment between airlines.

Weaker: a documented closure or ATC restriction for your flight, where Vueling offered the earliest alternative, also with other airlines. Not sure? Try the rejection checker.

Appeal My Flight writes the reply to Vueling and the board complaint for €29 per booking, however many passengers. You send it yourself and keep the payout. We cannot promise an outcome.

FAQ

Vueling's chat did not understand my case. What now?

Keep a screenshot of the chat and send your claim in writing as well, with the booking code, flight, date and amount. The chat is Vueling's channel, but you must be able to prove what you claimed and when.

Vueling offers a voucher. Do I have to take it?

No. Vueling's own leaflet says a voucher needs your signed agreement. Ask for a bank transfer.

My ticket was sold by Iberia but Vueling flew. Who pays?

The airline that operated the flight, here Vueling. Norway's board took exactly that view in 2024.

Got the airline's reply? Paste it into the rejection checker and see what EU court rulings say about their excuse.