TAP diverted flight: compensation and a different airport
Fog at Lisbon, a medical emergency on board or crosswinds at Funchal can send your TAP Air Portugal flight to an airport you never booked. A diversion does not strip your rights — it usually adds to them.
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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: When TAP lands you at a different airport, it must still carry you to your booked destination and pay for that onward transfer, so you are never out of pocket for a taxi, coach or train. Whether you also receive fixed EU261 compensation of EUR 250, EUR 400 or EUR 600 depends on how late you reach the booked airport: cross the three-hour mark and, unless TAP proves a genuine extraordinary circumstance, it owes compensation by distance.
What counts as a diversion
A diversion means your flight departs but touches down somewhere other than the airport on your ticket. Madeira's Funchal (FNC) is one of Europe's most diversion-prone runways because of wind, and TAP's Lisbon (LIS) and Porto (OPO) hubs both see weather that forces diversions regularly. Typical outcomes: Lisbon traffic sent to Porto or Faro, Funchal to Porto Santo — then a wait, a coach transfer and a re-timed departure or overnight stay.
Crucially, EU Regulation 261/2004 (EU261) does not treat a diversion as the end of your flight. As long as TAP eventually gets you to the destination you booked, the law measures your journey by where you were supposed to arrive.
Your delay is measured at the final destination
Under Sturgeon (C-402/07), an arrival delay of three hours or more is treated like a cancellation for compensation. Under Folkerts (C-11/11), what counts is the delay at your final destination — the airport on your ticket — and the amount is fixed by the total distance to it.
So if TAP diverts your London-Lisbon flight to Porto and buses you to Lisbon, the clock stops when you reach Lisbon — not when the wheels hit Porto. If that is three or more hours after your scheduled Lisbon arrival, compensation is due on the London-Lisbon distance; the diversion airport is irrelevant. The same logic runs through our three-hour delay guide and applies to a missed onward connection.
Transfer to your booked airport — at TAP's cost
A diversion triggers TAP's Article 8 and Article 9 duties: Article 8 is the right to re-routing to your final destination, Article 9 the right to care. Together they mean TAP must complete your journey to the booked airport and pay for the surface transport — a coach, shuttle or taxi if TAP fails to arrange it.
If TAP leaves you stranded with no onward arrangement, keep every receipt and reclaim the reasonable cost — the same goes for meals during the wait and a hotel if held overnight. TAP cannot treat the diversion airport as your destination and walk away; onward carriage is your right, not a favour.
When compensation is actually due
Compensation is a flat sum tied to the distance to your booked destination, not to your fare. Measure the great-circle distance from origin to the airport you booked.
| Booked TAP flight (diverted) | Distance to booked airport | Compensation if 3h+ late |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon-Funchal, diverted to Porto Santo | Up to 1,500 km | EUR 250 |
| London-Lisbon, diverted to Porto | 1,500-3,500 km | EUR 400 |
| New York-Lisbon, diverted to Madrid | Over 3,500 km | EUR 600 |
Any wholly intra-EU journey over 1,500 km sits in the EUR 400 band. Under Article 7(2), TAP may halve a long-haul figure to EUR 300 only if it re-routes you to arrive within four hours of schedule. Check your band with our flight compensation calculator. You may instead give up the trip and claim a full refund under Article 8; refund and compensation are separate rights, so taking one does not cancel the other.
Right to care applies even when the diversion is "not TAP's fault"
Care rights do not depend on whose fault the diversion was. In McDonagh (C-12/11) the Court held that the right to meals, refreshments and accommodation applies even during extraordinary circumstances, with no financial ceiling. So even when weather makes fixed compensation unavailable, TAP still owes food, a hotel and transport to your booked airport.
When TAP can refuse compensation
TAP escapes the EUR 250-600 payment only by proving an extraordinary circumstance it could not have avoided with all reasonable measures. Severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions and genuine security threats can qualify; routine technical faults usually do not (Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07; van der Lans, C-257/14). As many diversions are weather-driven, the defence comes up often — but it must be proven, and never removes the transfer and care duties above. More in our weather and ATC guide. The operating carrier is liable (Wirth, C-532/17): check whether TAP, TAP Express or a codeshare partner flew the diverted leg.
ClaimWinger handles diverted-flight claims on a no-win, no-fee basis: no upfront cost, a commission only if the claim succeeds. We establish your true arrival time, measure the correct distance, recover transfer and care costs, and test any extraordinary-circumstances defence TAP raises. Start on our delayed-flight page or the TAP Air Portugal compensation hub.
Time limits
There is no single universal deadline: the limitation period depends on the jurisdiction, and under Rehder (C-204/08) you can sue at either the departure or arrival airport. Check the TAP time-limit guide early. A separate July 2026 EU reform proposing a nine-month claim window and a 30-day airline response deadline is a proposal, not yet in force. If your journey departs a UK airport, UK261 applies instead, with fixed amounts of GBP 220, GBP 350 or GBP 520.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
My TAP flight to Lisbon landed in Porto instead. Is that a cancellation?
Usually no. If TAP takes you on to Lisbon, EU261 treats it as one delayed journey to your booked destination, not a cancellation. Compensation depends on how late you reach Lisbon (Folkerts, C-11/11).
Who pays for the coach or taxi from the diversion airport?
TAP does. Article 8 and Article 9 require the airline to carry you to your booked airport and cover the surface transport. If TAP fails to arrange it, pay, keep receipts and reclaim the reasonable cost.
The diversion was caused by fog. Do I get anything?
You still get care — meals, a hotel if held overnight, and the onward journey to your booked airport (McDonagh, C-12/11). Fixed compensation may be refused only if TAP proves the weather was a genuine extraordinary circumstance it could not avoid.
Sources
This guide reflects the legal position in 2026: the EU261 three-hour threshold and EUR 250/400/600 amounts remain in force; the EU261 reform (revised thresholds, a nine-month claim window and 30-day response deadline) remains a proposal, not yet in force. This is general information, not legal advice.