| Type of flight | Cost per diverted flight | Recommended value... | ...of which passenger compensation1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional flights (Regional jet & turboprop) | €7,000–€79,000 | €15,000 | €3,000 |
| Continental flights - LCC (Narrow-body)2 | €5,000–€125,000 | €55,000 | €40,000 |
| Continental flights - Mainline (Narrow-body) | €8,000–€157,000 | €55,000 | €27,000 |
| Intercontinental flights (Wide-body) | €27,000–€365,000 | €82,000 | €32,000 |
| Source: Values estimated in consultation with Airlines | |||
| 1 Passenger compensation refers solely to the passenger compensation claimed under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 | |||
| 2 LCC stands for Low-Cost Carrier | |||
17 Cost of diversion
17.1 EUROCONTROL recommended values
Table 17.1 presents the estimated average cost of the diversion of a flight to an airport other than the one initially planned. These values have been estimated through an extensive consultation process with the Airline members.
The values in Table 17.1 are presented for three different flight types, which also correspond to different aircraft types, typically flown on such routes:
Regional flights refer to short-haul flights (< 1,500 km) and that are typically operated by small aircraft (80-120 seats), such as regional jets and turboprop
Continental flights refer to medium-haul flights (1,500 – 3,000 km) and that are typically operated by narrow-body aircraft (130 – 189 seats). The continental flights are split between those operated by Mainline carriers and Low-Cost carriers (LCC), in order to better reflect the respective cost differences
Intercontinental flights refer to long-haul flights (> 3,000 km) and that are typically operated by wide-body aircraft (200 – 500 seats). These are most often flights departing outside of ECAC area and the focus of the analysis is on flights that are diverted within the ECAC territory for simplicity
Furthermore, three categories of values are provided:
Cost per diverted flight, in the first column, represents a cost interval per diverted flight. Within this cost interval the following assumptions are made:
For the lower end of the interval: the flight is diverted to an airport where the Airline has assistance contracts in place; the additional flight time to divert is short; there are few passengers in connection on board and there is no need for passenger compensation, only a meal voucher is provided
For the upper end of the interval: the flight is diverted to an airport where the Airline has no assistance contracts in place; additional flight time is longer and more expensive; there are several passengers in connection on board; the delay caused is long, triggering Regulation (EC) 261/2004; both a meal voucher and a bus or taxi transfer, or a night at a hotel is provided to the passengers; the diversion causes a delay for the following flight, requiring passenger care to be provided to the passengers on the next flight; and a ferry flight is required in order to reposition the aircraft for further operations
Recommended value presents an estimated most likely cost of diversion per type of flight, weighted by the likelihood of occurrence of the drivers impacting the cost per flight. This value includes the cost of passenger compensation as per Regulation (EC) 261/2004, and aims at guiding the user towards a most likely cost per flight within the interval provided in column “Cost per diverted flight”
Of which passenger compensation presents the amount corresponding to passenger compensation within the value provided in the column “Recommended value”, per Regulation (EC) 261/2004. This metric is separated as this is a differentiating factor between the different uses of the cost of diversion (i.e. those due to Airline internal reasons, where the regulation is applicable, and those due to reasons external to the Airline, where the regulation is not applicable)
In 2024, out of the total number of flights (9.4 million) with a destination in the EUROCONTROL Network Manager area, over 30 thousand flights (0.32%) landed at an airport other than the one initially planned.
The cost of diversion for business aviation, as presented below, has not been recalculated due to lack of available information. Therefore, the value reflects the initial estimation from 2012 adjusted to inflation.
| Type of flight | Cost of diverted flight1 |
|---|---|
| Business aviation | €9,600 |
| Source: Data supplied by the airline members of the SESAR CBA team (2015) | |
| 1 Monetary values were adjusted from 2012 to 2024 prices according to inflation | |
Note
The estimated cost for business aviation assumes that for each diverted flight there is one additional positioning flight.
17.2 Other possible values
Cost of diversion due to curfew represents the estimated cost per flight when a diversion occurs in order to avoid a curfew at the airport of destination.
| Type of flight | Cost per diverted flight | Recommended value... | ...of which passenger compensation1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional flights (Regional jet & turboprop) | €9,000–€79,000 | €18,000 | €2,000 |
| Continental flights - LCC (Narrow-body)2 | €12,000–€125,000 | €75,000 | €45,000 |
| Continental flights - Mainline (Narrow-body) | €15,000–€157,000 | €81,000 | €26,000 |
| Intercontinental flights (Wide-body) | €37,000–€365,000 | €172,000 | €31,000 |
| Source: Values estimated in consultation with Airlines | |||
| 1 Passenger compensation refers solely to the passenger compensation claimed under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 | |||
| 2 LCC stands for Low-Cost Carrier | |||
The logic behind the estimation of ‘cost of diversion due to curfew’ is identical to the one described for the cost of diversion above. However, diversions due to a curfew have some differences from other en-route diversions in that they presume that the diversion happens late in the evening, which entails a set of costs not necessarily faced under other causes of diversion. Therefore, the main difference in cost estimation is the assumption that there would be a need for bus/taxi transfer and/or hotel accommodation for the passengers; there will be reactionary delay the following day due to the positioning of the aircraft at an airport other than that initially planned, leading to costs for passenger care for passengers on the next day’s flight; and that the passengers would claim compensation in any scenario (i.e. in the lower end of the cost interval and in the higher end), provided that the diversion falls under Regulation (EC) 261/2004.