Flight disruption
Spain — further damages beyond the Article 7 sum
NationalESUnverified — check before relying on it
Spain
- Rule id
- air.eu261.es-lna
- Version
- 0.1.0
- In force from
- February 17, 2005
- Last read against its sources
- August 5, 2026
- Countries bound
- Spain
In plain language
What this regime says.
Spain preserves national claims that can exceed the fixed EU261 figure, under the Ley de Navegación Aérea and the consumer code. We can point you at the route and the forum; we deliberately do not quote an amount, because the amount is whatever you can evidence.
Who is covered
Passengers whose journey touches Spain — including the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla — or who flew a Spanish-licensed carrier.
What you get
Your provable consequential losses, with the EU261 payment credited against them under Article 12(1). No fixed sum.
Where claims go wrong
- Treating this as additional to EU261 rather than as a larger claim against which EU261 is set off.
- Expecting AESA to order payment. It supervises the airline; it does not decide your claim.
- Assuming Catalonia has a shorter limitation period. It does not for this kind of claim: five years applies nationwide.
Authority
Every citation,
with its pinpoint.
A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flightsURL verified 2026-08-05Art. 12(1)
- Ley 48/1960 de Navegación AéreaLey 48/1960, de 21 de julio, sobre Navegación Aérea — carrier liability for delay and damage to passengers
- Texto Refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y UsuariosReal Decreto Legislativo 1/2007, de 16 de noviembre (TRLGDCU) — general consumer protection, including damages for non-conforming services
- Código Civil, art. 1964.2Código Civil (Spain), art. 1964.2 — five-year limitation for personal actions
Sources
Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.
- AESA — Derechos de los pasajeros aéreosAgencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérearetrieved 2026-08-05
What it imposes
Clocks, defences and the ladder.
A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.
The clocks it starts
- Limitation period — SpainFatal if missedSpain: 5 years. Código Civil art. 1964.2 — five years for personal actions with no special period, reduced from fifteen by Ley 42/2015. Time runs from when performance could be demanded (art. 1969).Código Civil, art. 1964.2Limitation period
What it entitles you to, beyond money
- Further damages under Spanish lawSpanish law preserves a claim for the loss the disruption actually caused, over and above the fixed Article 7 sum. This head of claim pays what you can PROVE you lost, so it lives or dies on documents: the non-refundable booking you could not use, the payslip showing the day of leave, the receipt for the replacement ticket. Nobody can tell you the figure in advance, and any tool that quotes one is guessing. Article 12(1) of Regulation 261/2004 preserves this claim but provides that anything paid under the Regulation may be deducted from it. Present the Article 7 figure as a CREDIT against your damages, not as an addition: a claim for "EUR 600 plus EUR 900" invites the airline to dismiss the whole thing, whereas "EUR 900, of which EUR 600 is the Article 7 sum" is exactly right.Art. 12(1)
Where to take it next
- Complain to AESAAESA is the Spanish enforcement body for Regulation 261/2004. It will assess your complaint and can act against the airline, but be clear that it supervises rather than adjudicates: it does not order the airline to pay you.Regulatortypically 120 daysofficial page
- Juzgado de Primera Instancia — juicio verbalBinding on themSmall civil claims proceed by juicio verbal, and below the statutory threshold you do not need a lawyer or procurador. This is the step that actually produces payment.Small claimstypically 240 days
Documents
What this regime can produce.
Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.
The same claim type elsewhere
Belarus — Air Code of the Republic of Belarus and the Department of AviationBYNational — BelarusВоздушный кодекс Республики БеларусьConfidence: lowEU Regulation 261/2004 (air passenger rights)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 261/2004Confidence: highGermany — contractual damages beyond the Article 7 sum (BGB)DENational — GermanyRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: mediumItaly — ruined-holiday damages (danno da vacanza rovinata)ITNational — ItalyRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: lowMoldova — air passenger rights under the EU–Moldova Common Aviation Area AgreementMDNational — MoldovaEU–Moldova Common Aviation Area Agreement, Annex IIIConfidence: mediumRussian Federation — Air Code Art. 120 (carrier liability for delay)RUNational — RussiaВоздушный кодекс Российской Федерации, ст. 120 (Ответственность перевозчика за просрочку доставки пассажира, багажа или груза)Confidence: highTürkiye — SHY-YOLCU air passenger rights regulationTRNational — TürkiyeSHY-YOLCU, Kapsam (scope)Confidence: mediumUkraine — Air Code of Ukraine, Arts. 103–107 (passenger compensation)UANational — UkraineПовітряний кодекс України, ст. 104 (Компенсація пасажирам у разі відмови у перевезенні — denied boarding)Confidence: high
Other rights in the same countries
European Union — delivery rights on consumer sales (Directive 2011/83/EU, Art. 18)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2011/83/EU, Art. 18Confidence: mediumEuropean Union — price indication, drip pricing, pre-ticked extras and surchargingEUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 98/6/EC, arts. 2(a) and 3(1)Confidence: highEuropean Union — rail passenger rights (Regulation (EU) 2021/782)EUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2021/782, Art. 19Confidence: highEuropean Union — Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumersConfidence: highEU cross-border healthcare — Directive 2011/24/EU reimbursement, the EHIC and the S2EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 2011/24/EU, Arts. 6, 7 and 8Confidence: highEU air carrier liability for baggage (Regulation (EC) No 2027/97)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 2027/97, Art. 1 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002)Confidence: highEU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR (direct marketing)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2002/58/EC (ePrivacy Directive), Art. 13Confidence: mediumEU General Data Protection RegulationEUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2016/679, Arts. 15–21Confidence: high
Does this one reach your facts?
The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.
Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.