TAP compensation calculator: how much you are owed
Working out what TAP Air Portugal owes you starts with the route, not the clock. TAP is an EU carrier based in Lisbon (LIS) and Porto (OPO), so EU Regulation 261/2004 covers every TAP flight leaving an EU airport and every TAP flight arriving in the EU from a third country such as Brazil or the United States. Once cover is confirmed, the fixed amount turns on a single figure: the great-circle distance to your final destination.
Free eligibility check
Check your case in the form
Enter your route, date and type of disruption. We will check whether your case qualifies for a claim under EU 261/2004 or UK261.
What happened to your flight?
Claim up to €600 for a delayed or cancelled flight.
Choose the situation that applies to your flight:
Short answer: A qualifying TAP disruption pays a flat EUR 250 (up to 1,500 km), EUR 400 (1,500–3,500 km, and any intra-EU flight over 1,500 km) or EUR 600 (over 3,500 km between the EU and a non-EU country) per passenger, provided you reach your final destination three hours or more late. Most TAP long-haul routes to Brazil, the US, Canada and Africa sit in the EUR 600 band. Flights departing the UK follow UK261 (GBP 220/350/520) instead.
The three EU261 bands
The amount is fixed by distance and is paid per passenger, not per booking. The ticket price, the cabin and whether you bought a sale fare do not change it.
| Distance to final destination | Amount | Typical TAP route |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | EUR 250 | Lisbon–Madrid, Porto–Paris, Lisbon–Funchal (Madeira) |
| 1,500–3,500 km, or any intra-EU flight over 1,500 km | EUR 400 | Lisbon–Berlin, Lisbon–Cape Verde |
| Over 3,500 km (EU↔non-EU) | EUR 600 | Lisbon–São Paulo, Porto–Newark, Lisbon–Luanda |
The EUR 600 figure is where TAP's network makes the difference. Its Brazil routes (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Salvador, Recife), its US gateways (Newark, JFK, Boston, Miami, Washington), its Canadian services (Montreal, Toronto) and its African destinations (Luanda, Maputo, Cape Verde, São Tomé, Bissau, Accra) all clear 3,500 km comfortably. Short domestic hops to the Azores (Ponta Delgada) or Madeira (Funchal) sit far lower down the scale.
Distance is measured to the final destination
The most common mistake is pricing a disruption on the leg that went wrong rather than on the whole journey. On a single booking with a connection over Lisbon or Porto, both the delay and the distance are read to the last airport on the ticket. The Court of Justice confirmed in C-11/11 (Folkerts) that compensation depends on the arrival delay at the final destination, using the distance to that final destination.
Two worked examples make the point:
- Berlin–Lisbon–São Paulo on one ticket. A delay to the short Berlin–Lisbon leg makes you miss the connection, and you land in São Paulo eight hours late. The distance that counts is Berlin to São Paulo, well over 3,500 km, so the figure is EUR 600 — not the EUR 250 the first leg alone might suggest.
- Funchal (Madeira)–Lisbon–Paris on one ticket. You arrive in Paris four hours late after a missed connection. Funchal to Paris falls in the 1,500–3,500 km band, so the figure is EUR 400 — one payment for one disrupted journey, not one per leg.
The 50% reduction
If TAP cancels or denies boarding and then reroutes you so that you still reach your final destination within a limited window, Article 7(2) lets it halve the amount. On the long-haul band that means EUR 600 becomes EUR 300 when the rerouted arrival is under four hours later than originally scheduled; the shorter bands can fall to EUR 125 or EUR 200. This EUR 300 is a reduction of the EUR 600, not a separate band, and it applies only when the rerouting is quick enough.
Where TAP can still say no
A positive time-and-distance result is provisional until the cause is settled. TAP can avoid the flat sum only if it proves a genuine extraordinary circumstance that all reasonable measures could not have avoided (C-549/07, Wallentin-Hermann). A routine technical fault that emerges from normal operations is generally the carrier's own risk, not an escape route (C-257/14, van der Lans). Strikes matter here too: a walkout by TAP's own pilots (SPAC) or cabin crew (SNPVAC) is not an extraordinary circumstance (C-28/20, Airhelp v SAS), so an internal TAP strike usually keeps your claim alive.
Check the operating carrier as well. The airline that actually flew the segment is the one liable (C-532/17, Wirth); some TAP-coded flights are operated by TAP Express or by codeshare partners, and your claim should be aimed at whoever operated the disrupted leg.
UK departures follow different numbers
For a flight leaving a UK airport, UK261 applies instead of EU261, with amounts in sterling — GBP 220, GBP 350 or GBP 520 across the same distance bands. TAP flights arriving in the EU from a third country stay covered because TAP is an EU carrier, so the euro figures still apply in both directions on its Brazil, US, Canada and Africa routes; only the UK-departure leg switches to the sterling scale.
Running the numbers with ClaimWinger
Once you have the distance band, the arrival delay and the cause, you can pull the whole calculation together. ClaimWinger works on a no win, no fee basis: there is no upfront cost, and we only take a commission if the claim succeeds. If a TAP flight left you three hours or more behind, start with our delayed flight check, or run the route through the flight compensation calculator.
For more detail, see the hub guide TAP Air Portugal compensation, the breakdown of the top band in TAP EUR 600 compensation, what a three-hour delay is worth, and the step-by-step in how to claim.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
How much is a TAP flight from Lisbon to São Paulo worth?
On a covered flight over 3,500 km, a final-destination delay of three hours or more is normally EUR 600 per passenger, unless TAP proves an extraordinary circumstance or a quick rerouting halves it to EUR 300.
Does the calculator measure delay from take-off?
No. The flat amount depends on how late you reach your final destination compared with the scheduled arrival — not on the departure delay. Departure delay mainly triggers the right to care (meals, calls, hotel) after two, three or four hours.
Do I get EUR 600 twice for a two-leg journey to Brazil?
No. One disruption on one booking gives one payment per passenger. The distance is measured from your first departure airport to your final destination, and the delay is the arrival delay there.
Is a cheap or a business-class ticket calculated differently?
No. The EUR 250/400/600 bands depend on distance and disruption type, not on fare or cabin. A downgrade can create a separate claim for part of the ticket price, but it does not change the flat compensation.
What about a flight departing London on TAP?
That leg follows UK261, so the amounts are GBP 220/350/520 by distance rather than the euro figures.
Sources
This guide reflects the legal position in 2026: the EU261 three-hour threshold and the EUR 250/400/600 amounts remain in force, and the EU261 reform — including a proposed nine-month claim window and a 30-day airline response deadline — is a proposal, not yet in force. Claim time limits vary by jurisdiction (for example Portugal, or wherever suit is brought), so treat any single deadline cautiously and act promptly.