LATAM compensation amounts: EUR 600 or GBP 520

Calculate the claim in this order: determine the regime, identify the operator, set the protected journey, measure distance and final delay, test any reduction, then multiply by eligible passengers. Starting with the largest number creates avoidable refusals.

Amount tables

The long-haul amount can be halved when replacement transport reaches the final destination within the relevant four-hour window. Under current long-delay treatment, an arrival between three and four hours late can likewise place a long-haul case in the EUR 300 or GBP 260 outcome. Record minutes, not a rounded statement such as “about four hours.”

Step 1: choose EU261 or UK261

LATAM is not an EU or UK carrier. Its departures from covered airports can still qualify because both regimes protect outbound flights regardless of carrier nationality. Inbound LATAM-operated flights beginning in Latin America usually fall outside both.

Examples:

• Madrid-Sao Paulo: EU261 can apply;
• Paris-Santiago: EU261 can apply;
• Heathrow-Sao Paulo: UK261 can apply;
• Sao Paulo-Madrid operated by LATAM: normally no EU261;
• Sao Paulo-Heathrow operated by LATAM: normally no UK261.

Do not convert euros to pounds and demand both. A journey has a governing coverage analysis. An EU feeder and UK departure can create more complex facts, but double recovery for the same inconvenience is not the objective.

The LATAM coverage pillar contains the full direction table.

Step 2: identify the protected journey

For a direct flight, measure the great-circle distance between origin and destination. For a one-booking connection, the protected origin and final destination can set the amount; simply adding segment distances is not the method.

Madrid-GRU-Recife on one booking starts in the EU and ends at Recife. If a covered disruption causes arrival there more than four hours late, the long-haul EUR 600 category can apply. If Madrid-GRU and GRU-Recife are separate tickets, the EU261 booking may end at GRU. Loss on the second ticket needs separate analysis.

UK journeys use the same practical discipline: preserve the complete ticket and distinguish a true connection from self-transfer. The LATAM missed-connection guide explains through-ticket evidence.

Step 3: measure final arrival accurately

For delay compensation, the core threshold is arrival at least three hours late. Arrival is tied to opening an aircraft door, not runway touchdown. On a one-ticket journey, use the final destination even when the first sector's delay was shorter.

Cancellation can produce the same distance-based amount, but notice and offered rerouting windows matter. Involuntary denied boarding can trigger the tariff without waiting for a three-hour arrival test, although the replacement arrival can determine whether a reduction applies.

Keep the original schedule, replacement schedule and actual arrival evidence. LATAM's app may update the booking and hide the first version after reaccommodation.

Step 4: test the 50% reduction

The airline does not receive a reduction merely because it offered some replacement flight. The alternative must reach the final destination within the statutory time window for the distance category.

Long-haul examples:

• original arrival 10:00, replacement door opens 13:35: EUR 300 or GBP 260 may apply;
• original arrival 10:00, replacement door opens 14:05: full EUR 600 or GBP 520 category;
• passenger chooses a much later flight for personal convenience when an earlier compliant option was available: the analysis may change and needs the offer record.

Ask LATAM to identify the reduction it used. A response that pays half without the actual arrival calculation should be challenged with the timestamps.

Step 5: multiply per eligible passenger

Fixed compensation is not paid once per PNR. Each passenger travelling on a qualifying ticket can have a claim, including a child whose fare was publicly available. Infants travelling entirely free without their own seat or public fare need a closer ticket analysis.

List passenger names and ticket numbers. One adult can coordinate a household submission, but LATAM may request authority from other adults. Payment should not be silently collapsed into one passenger's amount.

Five worked LATAM calculations

Couple from Madrid to Sao Paulo

The direct LATAM-operated departure arrives 5 hours 20 minutes late after a routine aircraft defect. EU261 covers the departure. Two passengers at EUR 600 each claim EUR 1,200. Reasonable meals are added as a separate expense line.

Family from Heathrow through GRU

Two adults and two children travel on one booking to Santiago. An internal operational problem causes arrival six hours late. UK261 begins at Heathrow. Four times GBP 520 gives GBP 2,080, subject to LATAM's causation evidence.

Rerouted passenger from Paris

LATAM cancels Paris-Sao Paulo at short notice and places the passenger on an alternative arriving 3 hours 45 minutes late. If no extraordinary defence applies and the reduction conditions are met, the result is EUR 300 rather than EUR 600.

LATAM-operated return to Madrid

Sao Paulo-Madrid arrives eight hours late. The route exceeds 3,500 km, but distance cannot create territorial coverage. Because LATAM operated an inbound journey starting outside the EU, the automatic EU261 amount is normally zero. Local, contractual and proven-loss remedies may still exist.

Iberia-operated inbound codeshare

Lima-Madrid is sold with an LA code but operated by Iberia. The flight is cancelled within seven days of departure and replacement arrival falls outside the protective window. Iberia's EU-carrier status can make EUR 600 available, subject to cause. Address the claim to the operator rather than LATAM merely because LATAM sold it.

Ticket price and compensation are independent

A discounted EUR 450 ticket can still generate EUR 600 fixed compensation. A EUR 3,000 business-class fare does not increase the statutory tariff. The amount compensates inconvenience by distance and timing; it is not a refund formula.

Ticket reimbursement is separate. If LATAM cancels and the passenger abandons the journey, unused fare and services can be reimbursed while fixed compensation is assessed independently. A paid hotel, food or replacement flight is another line. A downgrade has its own percentage method. Do not offset these categories without a legal reason.

LATAM Wallet credit should be checked carefully. The wallet balance may represent a refund or commercial compensation, but it does not necessarily discharge a statutory cash amount. Keep the offer and consent screen.

Award tickets and upgrades

A publicly available LATAM Pass redemption can qualify for fixed compensation. The statutory amount is not calculated from the number of miles used. Separate:

• EU261 or UK261 fixed compensation;
• return of unused miles;
• refund of taxes and carrier charges;
• refund or restoration of an upgrade;
• reimbursement of paid seat or baggage services not delivered.

The fare conditions can control voluntary changes, but they do not override statutory rights after a covered airline disruption. The LATAM Pass guide handles these accounting lines.

Cause can reduce the result to zero

Extraordinary circumstances can remove fixed compensation entirely, not merely reduce it. Severe weather, air-traffic restrictions or security events may qualify if they actually caused the flight and reasonable measures could not avoid the outcome.

Ordinary technical failure, routine rotation or carrier staffing generally calls for scepticism. Ask LATAM for concrete facts. Care, rerouting and reimbursement can remain available even when the fixed amount is zero.

Claim format

A clear demand might state:

“Passengers A, B and C travelled on one LATAM-operated booking from London Heathrow to Santiago via Sao Paulo. Scheduled final arrival was 09:15; the aircraft door opened at 15:02 after an ordinary operational disruption. We request GBP 520 per passenger, total GBP 1,560, plus GBP 74.60 in itemised care expenses.”

Attach the original itinerary, boarding passes, replacement documents, arrival proof and receipts. The arithmetic is visible, and expenses are not confused with the fixed tariff.

Legal date and future EU changes

These figures and tests state the position used on 25 August 2026. The adopted EU reform has a future application timetable and should not be used prematurely to change current thresholds, process dates or the direction test. UK261 figures remain governed separately by UK law.

FAQ

Is LATAM compensation based on my ticket price?

No. EU261 and UK261 fixed amounts use distance and disruption timing, not the fare paid.

Can LATAM reduce EUR 600 to EUR 300?

Potentially, when qualifying replacement transport brings a long-haul passenger to the final destination within four hours. The actual arrival must support it.

Does each family member receive a separate amount?

Yes for each eligible passenger on a qualifying public ticket. Multiply the tariff and list every passenger and ticket.

Can I receive both a ticket refund and fixed compensation?

They can coexist because they address different rights. Refund covers unused transport value; fixed compensation addresses the qualifying disruption.

Why is a long Sao Paulo-Madrid delay not automatically EUR 600?

Distance alone is insufficient. A LATAM-operated inbound flight starting outside the EU normally falls outside EU261's territorial scope.

Official sources

• EUR-Lex: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
• Your Europe: compensation and rerouting tables
• UK CAA: delay compensation amounts
• LATAM: passenger-rights coverage
• LATAM: refunds and LATAM Wallet
• Court of Justice: arrival time, Germanwings C-452/13