Vueling owes €250, €400 or €600 by distance for a three-hour arrival delay, a cancellation with under 14 days’ notice, or denied boarding. It is licensed in Spain, so EU261 covers every flight it operates out of the EU and into the EU. Claims go through its own complaints form, and a refusal goes to AESA.
Which figure applies is set by distance to your final destination, not by your fare — the bands are in the amounts table.
Which regime applies to your Vueling flight
| Your flight | Regime |
|---|---|
| Departs an EU airport, or arrives in the EU from outside on Vueling | EU261 — euro amounts, enforcement body of the country you left |
| Departs a UK airport | UK261 — sterling amounts, CAA route, but no ADR scheme (see below) |
Claim to Vueling first — the Spanish route depends on it
Vueling publishes a complaints page in its customer-services section, and we confirmed it opens on 6 September 2026. Use it, cite Article 7, give the actual arrival time at your final destination, and keep the case number.
Do that before you go anywhere else. Spain’s enforcement body is AESA, the Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea, and its passenger-rights page carries the complaint form; its general enquiries address is for information only, not for filing. AESA acts on a claim the airline has already answered or ignored, so the airline’s reply — or your proof that none came — is the file.
AESA is the body Spain designates under Article 16 to enforce the Regulation. We have not verified whether its resolution can order the airline to pay, so treat it as the official enforcement route rather than as a court, and keep the court option open. More in if the airline refuses.
No UK ADR scheme covers Vueling
We read both CAA-approved schemes’ published member lists on 6 September 2026: AviationADR and CEDR. Vueling is on neither. For a flight out of a UK airport that leaves you with CAA PACT, which records the complaint and takes it up with the airline but cannot make a binding decision. Some other carriers on the same routes are in a scheme, and on those the adjudicator’s decision binds — it is a real difference in what a refusal costs you.
Which band you are actually in
Article 7(1)(b) caps a flight with both ends inside the EU at €400 however far it goes, and the €600 band needs more than 3,500 km with one end outside the EU. On a short- and medium-haul European network that leaves €250 and €400 as the realistic outcomes. The fare is irrelevant to the calculation: the amount is fixed by distance.
Check the “operated by” line before you write. Article 2(b) puts the obligation on the airline that operated the flight, and a VY flight number on a partner’s aircraft goes to that partner — see which airline actually owes you.
“Operational reasons” is not an exemption. Article 5(3) makes the airline prove the specific event and the reasonable measures it took. A refusal with no named cause has not met that test — ask for the cause in writing, then check it against extraordinary circumstances.
Where do I complain if Vueling refuses?
For an EU departure, to AESA in Spain or to the enforcement body of the country you actually left. Attach your claim, Vueling’s reply and the flight documents. For a UK departure, to CAA PACT — no approved ADR scheme lists Vueling.
Can I claim on a cheap Vueling fare?
Yes. The Article 7 amount is fixed by distance and unconnected to what you paid, so €250 on a €30 ticket is the ordinary outcome. Only the Article 7(2) re-routing reduction can change the figure, and only when the airline actually re-routed you inside the window for your band.
Vueling offered a voucher. Do I have to take it?
No. Article 7(3) pays compensation in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank order or cheque; a travel voucher requires your signed agreement. Decline it in writing and ask for a transfer — declining does not weaken the claim.
Rules in force today
This is the law that applies to a flight you take today. A revision of Regulation 261/2004 was adopted in July 2026 — the Parliament approved the conciliation text on 7 July 2026 and the Council gave final approval on 13 July 2026 — and it is not yet in force: it applies 12 months after it enters into force following publication in the Official Journal, and the final text sets the details. See what the 2026 EU261 reform changes.