Landvetter Delayed Flight — Compensation Under EU 261 and How to Claim It

A delayed or cancelled flight from Gothenburg Landvetter can entitle you to flat-rate compensation of EUR 250–600 per passenger under EU Regulation 261/2004 — roughly SEK 2,800 to 6,800 depending on distance. The condition is that the delay at arrival to the final destination is at least three hours and that the cause lay within the airline's control. Landvetter is Sweden's second-largest airport and has a slightly different traffic profile from Arlanda — fewer direct long-haul flights, more European and connecting traffic via Amsterdam, more charter in summer. That has consequences for the kinds of disruption that turn up and for how a claim is pursued. Read more in the pillar page on flight delays and compensation .

Compensation is not a refund

A distinction that gets blurred in almost every first customer-service call. Compensation is the flat-rate amount of EUR 250–600 for the disruption itself. A refund is the money back for a ticket you no longer intend to use. If a Landvetter flight is cancelled, you have the right to choose between re-routing to the next available departure and a refund of the ticket — and on top of that you may be entitled to the compensation. The airline refunding the ticket or offering a voucher does not close the compensation question. More in the basics of EU 261 .

What a Landvetter flight is worth

EU 261 splits flights into three distance tiers. Landvetter's traffic sits mostly in the two lower bands, but the connecting traffic through large European hubs means all three levels are possible.

The euro amount is the legally binding one — it is the sum the airline must pay. The SEK amount is approximate and moves with the exchange rate. What counts is the delay at arrival to the final destination, not how late the aircraft rolled off the gate at Landvetter. If you want to see exactly what your journey is worth, you can work out your flight compensation based on distance and delay length.

Landvetter in brief — operator, terminal, traffic

Gothenburg Landvetter (IATA: GOT) sits about 20 km east of central Gothenburg and is operated by Swedavia. With just over six million passengers in a normal year it is Sweden's second-largest airport. Traffic is gathered in a single terminal with two piers — a Schengen side and a non-Schengen side — and a single runway for commercial traffic.

The traffic profile differs from Arlanda's in two ways that matter for EU 261 claims. First, SAS is not as dominant here as at Arlanda — KLM is a very strong player with several daily departures to Amsterdam Schiphol, and large parts of Landvetter's global reach run through that hub. British Airways flies to London, Lufthansa to Frankfurt and Munich, Finnair to Helsinki. Second, the charter and seasonal traffic is proportionally larger — TUI and other tour operators fly from Landvetter to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, with more unusual destinations in summer. That means a package holiday from Landvetter is governed by the Swedish Package Travel Act in addition to EU 261.

EU 261 applies to every departure from Landvetter

The airline's home country does not govern whether the regulation applies at departure. EU 261/2004 applies to all flights departing from an airport within the EU, whoever is flying. A KLM flight from Landvetter to Amsterdam is covered, a TUI flight to Las Palmas is covered, a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul is covered, an SAS flight to Stockholm is covered — as long as the aircraft takes off from an EU airport.

On the return leg into Landvetter the rules are slightly narrower. There EU 261 applies only if the operating carrier is an EU airline. A delay on KLM from New York to Landvetter is therefore covered; a delay on Delta on the same route is not. On departures from Landvetter the question is straightforward — the regulation applies.

Typical disruptions at Landvetter

It is worth knowing the local picture, because airlines often build their defence against a claim around these typical disruptions.

Winter snow and de-icing. Landvetter sits on higher ground east of Gothenburg and sometimes gets more snow than the city centre. Between December and March, de-icing queues and short runway closures during heavy snowfall recur. The line here is the same as at Arlanda: extreme weather can count as extraordinary under EU 261, normal winter operations cannot. The CJEU established in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07) that events forming part of an airline's normal operations are not extraordinary. A morning with snow showers at Landvetter is not automatically an extraordinary circumstance — extreme freezing rain or a runway closed for several hours might be. Always ask for the cause in writing.

Ground handling and baggage disruptions. Landvetter's ground handling — baggage loading, push-back, de-icing — is run by a smaller number of operators than Arlanda. The consequence is that a staff shortage or a short dispute hits a whole morning's traffic faster. A strike by the airline's own staff is generally counted as something within control and gives a right to compensation (CJEU Krüsemann and others, C-195/17). A strike by ground staff at a separate service provider is treated as extraordinary. Which of the two has happened decides the outcome — and that is why the cause must always be put in writing.

The KLM connection via Schiphol. The most common indirect journey from Landvetter is a KL flight to Amsterdam and onward on a KLM or SkyTeam long-haul. That makes Landvetter (GOT) an airport where missed connections are a dominant EU 261 theme. Two things to know. First: if the whole journey is booked on a single ticket it counts as a single continuous journey under EU 261, and what decides is the delay at your final destination. The CJEU confirmed the principle in Wegener (C-537/17). Second: a delay from Landvetter that eats into your minimum connection time at Schiphol can unlock the full top amount — EUR 600 — if the final destination is over 3,500 km away and the arrival delay was three hours or more. More on this in our page on missed connecting flight compensation .

How to claim compensation for a Landvetter flight — step by step

The process follows the same pattern regardless of carrier, but the order matters.

1. Keep your evidence straight away. Boarding pass, booking reference, flight number (KL, BA, LH, TO and so on), date, actual arrival time at the final destination, plus receipts for expenses during the wait — food, taxi, hotel.
2. Submit the claim to the operating carrier. That is the airline whose flight number you actually flew on. On a connection on a single ticket, you direct the claim at the airline that operated the affected leg. Use the airline's own passenger rights form and write explicitly that you are requesting compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004.
3. Ask for the cause in writing. Get the airline to state what the disruption was caused by. You will need it if they later cite an extraordinary circumstance.
4. Wait for the reply — but not indefinitely. If it drags on for months, that in itself is a reason to take the matter further.
5. Escalate when needed. Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN), Sweden's National Board for Consumer Disputes, examines the dispute at no cost and issues a recommendation that most airlines in practice follow. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, is the supervisory authority and can act on systematic failings.

The whole route is laid out in the guide on claiming flight compensation yourself .

A point that is often missed: you have ten years. The CJEU ruled in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11) that the limitation period for EU 261 claims follows national law, and the Swedish general limitation period is exactly ten years. If the airline cites a shorter deadline in its own terms, the Swedish limitation period takes precedence. A Landvetter flight from 2017 can therefore still be claimed for.

Charter flights from Landvetter — a short note

For a charter flight, two sets of rules apply in parallel: EU 261 from the airline's side (the cash flat-rate compensation) and the Swedish Package Travel Act from the tour operator's side (care, re-routing, price reduction). They do not replace each other — the EU 261 compensation claim is directed at the airline, and any claim for a price reduction or re-routing under the Package Travel Act is directed at the tour operator. Attempted hand-offs between "it isn't our responsibility — contact the tour operator" and the reverse are common; the correct counterparty for the compensation is always the operating carrier.

Where to escalate — the local route

For a departure from Landvetter the escalation chain looks the same as for any other Swedish airport:

• Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN) — Sweden's National Board for Consumer Disputes. Free dispute resolution for consumers. Issues a recommendation that most airlines follow in practice.
• Transportstyrelsen — the Swedish Transport Agency, the supervisory authority for air passenger rights. Does not take individual disputes but can act on systematic failings.
• Konsumentverket — the Swedish Consumer Agency, useful for general consumer guidance, especially on package travel and insolvency questions.
• A court — last step, rarely necessary for individual EU 261 claims.

For disruptions involving Swedish airlines specifically we have separate pages: SAS flight compensation . If the flight was cancelled outright, read cancelled flight compensation .

This is not legal advice

This page is based on EU Regulation 261/2004 and institutional sources. It is general information, not an assessment of your individual case — expert review has not yet been carried out. For advice on your specific case, contact Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN), Sweden's National Board for Consumer Disputes, or Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, which is the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden.

Pursue the claim yourself — or hand it over

Claiming compensation for a Landvetter departure is free if you do it yourself according to the steps above. It takes patience, especially after a first no, but you keep the full amount. The guide on claiming flight compensation yourself takes you the whole way, from first wording to ARN filing. If you would rather hand the case over, a claim service can manage the contact, the paperwork and any dispute for a commission on the compensation paid out.

You can let AirHelp check your Landvetter flight and pursue the claim for you: check your flight with AirHelp . The service works on commission — you only pay if the claim goes through — and you can always pursue the case free of charge yourself instead.

<p class="seomatrix-disclaimer">Disclosure: the link to AirHelp above is an advertising link. If you proceed via it, Kravflyg may receive compensation, at no extra cost to you and with no effect on your commission rate. We explain how this works on the <a href="/en/affiliate-disclosure/">affiliate disclosure</a> page.</p>

Frequently asked questions

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight from Landvetter?

The amount is EUR 250, 400 or 600 (roughly SEK 2,800, 4,500 or 6,800) depending on flight distance. Landvetter–Copenhagen or Landvetter–Stockholm gives EUR 250. Landvetter–Amsterdam, London or Frankfurt gives EUR 400. An intercontinental connection over 3,500 km — Gothenburg via Schiphol to New York or Bangkok — gives EUR 600 if the whole journey is booked on a single ticket. The delay is measured at arrival at the final destination and must be at least three hours.

Where do I turn if my flight from Landvetter was delayed?

The claim is directed at the operating carrier, not at Swedavia or Landvetter. You submit it via the airline's passenger rights form with the flight number, date and an explicit reference to EU 261/2004. If you get a no or no reply, you can take the matter further free of charge to ARN, Sweden's National Board for Consumer Disputes. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, is the supervisory body in Sweden.

Is the delay the airline's fault if it was snowing at Landvetter?

It depends on how extreme the weather actually was. Extreme weather counts as an extraordinary circumstance outside the airline's control and removes the right to compensation. Normal winter weather with snow and de-icing, on the other hand, is part of operations at a northern airport and is not automatically extraordinary (CJEU Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07). The airline pointing to "the weather" does not settle the matter — ask for the cause in writing and review it.

I missed my connection at Schiphol after a delayed KLM flight from Landvetter — does EU 261 apply?

Yes. If the whole journey was booked on a single ticket it counts as a single continuous journey under EU 261, and what decides is the delay at arrival to your final destination — not at Schiphol. The CJEU confirmed this principle for single-booking connections in Wegener (C-537/17). If the final delay was at least three hours and the cause lay within KLM's control, you are entitled to compensation for the whole route. The amount is calculated on the total distance from Landvetter to the final destination.

How long do I have to claim compensation for a Landvetter flight?

In Sweden the general limitation period of ten years applies to EU 261 claims, following the CJEU ruling in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11), which refers the question back to national limitation law. That means you can claim compensation for a flight from Landvetter up to ten years ago. If the airline cites a shorter deadline in its own terms, the Swedish ten-year period takes precedence.

Sources and further reading

• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
• Court of Justice of the EU — Sturgeon and others, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (the three-hour rule); Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 (technical faults and normal operations are not extraordinary); Wegener, C-537/17 (a connection on a single ticket counts as a single continuous journey); Krüsemann and others, C-195/17 (a strike by an airline's own staff); Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (limitation period follows national law — ten years in Sweden)
• Transportstyrelsen — Passenger rights (the Swedish Transport Agency, supervisory authority in Sweden)
• Konsumentverket — Delayed and cancelled flights (the Swedish Consumer Agency)
• Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN) — Sweden's National Board for Consumer Disputes; examines disputes free of charge for the consumer
• Swedavia — Gothenburg Landvetter Airport (operator information, terminal and traffic volume)

Last reviewed: 18 May 2026.