EU261 · enforcement
Claiming against an airline in Spain
You have five years to claim in Spain. For flights since 2 June 2023, AESA’s free dispute procedure ends in a decision that binds the airline.
Checked against its sources
Time limit
5 years
Código Civil art. 1964.2
Court route
AESA’s binding ADR, then the juicio verbal
AESA’s procedure is free.
Moré v KLM, the CJEU case that sends limitation to national law, began in a Barcelona court: KLM argued for two years and lost.
The order to do it in
- Write to the airline, quoting Article 7 and the flight. Free.
- Give it a month to answer.
- Apply to AESA if the airline refuses or does not answer within a month. For flights from 2 June 2023 its decision binds the airline (not you: you can still go to court); you must file within one year of your complaint to the airline. Free.
- Sue by juicio verbal in the civil courts if needed. If you live in a different EU country from the court, the European Small Claims Procedure (Regulation 861/2007) handles claims up to €5,000 with a standard form, usually without a hearing.
- A claims service only once the free routes are exhausted.
Which body: AESA handles flights that departed from Spain, whichever airline operated them, and flights into Spain from outside the EU, which the Regulation covers when an EU airline operates them (Articles 3 and 16). A flight from another EU country goes to that country’s body, even if the airline is based in Spain. All enforcement bodies →
The time limit in detail
- Period
- Five years from the flight.
- Statutory basis
- Código Civil article 1964.2: five years for personal actions without a special period (fifteen years until the 2015 reform).
- Court position
- Moré v KLM (C-139/11) came from the Juzgado de lo Mercantil no 7 de Barcelona, which applied Spanish limitation rules; the CJEU confirmed that national rules, not the two-year Montreal period, apply.
- AESA deadline
- Separate and shorter: an AESA application must be filed within one year of your complaint to the airline.
- Safe assumption
- Five years for court; one year from your airline complaint for AESA.
- Why national law
- Regulation 261 sets no time limit. The Court of Justice held in Moré v KLM (C-139/11, 22 November 2012) that each Member State’s limitation rules apply, and that the two-year Montreal Convention period does not.
- From 23 Oct 2027
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 adds a new Article 7(9): passengers must submit a request for compensation to the airline within nine months of the actual departure date on the ticket. It is a deadline for asking the airline, not for going to court, and the text does not say how it interacts with the national period above. Until it applies, the national period is the limit. What the reform changes →
Every country side by side: time limits by country.
Questions
How long do I have to claim flight compensation in Spain?
Five years, under article 1964.2 of the Código Civil. If you want AESA's binding procedure, apply within one year of your complaint to the airline.
Who enforces air passenger rights in Spain?
AESA (Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea), for flights departing from Spain or arriving there from outside the EU. For flights from 2 June 2023 its dispute procedure is free, and its decision binds the airline but not you.
Which court hears flight compensation claims in Spain?
The civil courts, by juicio verbal. Cross-border claims up to €5,000 can use the European Small Claims Procedure.
Does the 2026 EU reform change the deadline?
Not yet. From 23 October 2027, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 requires passengers to submit a compensation request to the airline within nine months of the departure date. How that interacts with the national limitation period is not settled by the text.