Didn’t fly? The airport taxes are usually yours to get back.
Missed the flight, cancelled your own trip, or just didn’t go? Part of what you paid was airport and government charges that are only owed when a passenger actually boards. On a non-refundable ticket you lose the fare, but those charges were never due, so the airline should give them back.
Be realistic: from Spain it’s usually €6–€25 per passenger per flight (Madrid and Barcelona are at the top). Some airlines deduct a fee that can eat most of it. From the UK, Air Passenger Duty alone is £15 short-haul and £102+ long-haul.
Charges that depend on you flying: Aena’s passenger, security and reduced-mobility charges in Spain; UK Air Passenger Duty; Germany’s air passenger tax; Italy’s municipal boarding surcharge; other airports’ passenger charges. They’re shown separately from the fare (EU law requires it).
The fare itself on a non-refundable ticket; carrier-imposed surcharges (“YQ/YR”, fuel or “carrier charges”, which follow the fare rules); booking, seat and bag fees; and anything a travel agency added. VAT on fares is generally refunded only on refundable tickets.
What airlines at Spanish airports do
| Airline | How to ask | Their fee | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | Form | €20 per passenger* | 1 month |
| Vueling | Customer service | up to €15 per passenger* | — |
| Iberia | Online form / phone | None found | — |
| Air Europa | Customer service | €18 per booking* | Ticket validity (≈1 year) |
| easyJet | Customer service | None found | 6 months |
| Volotea | Customer service | None found | — |
| Wizz Air | Customer service | Says not refundable | — |
| Binter | Customer service | None found | — |
| TAP Air Portugal | Form | €40 per ticket | — |
| Lufthansa | Form | None found | — |
| British Airways | Customer service | Unpublished charge | Ticket validity (≈1 year) |
| Transavia | Customer service | €20 per booking | 3 months |
* Reported by the press or consumer groups, not published by the airline. Checked on 2026-10-25; airlines change these often. Iberia Express follows Iberia.
What the law says, and what isn’t settled
EU law (Regulation 1008/2008, article 23) makes airlines show taxes and airport charges separately from the fare, and the EU Court of Justice has said national courts can strike down flat fees charged to passengers who cancel (Air Berlin, C-290/16, 2017). Spanish airport charges are levied per departing passenger, so if you don’t board they never fall due. In 2025 Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that Volotea’s €5 fee for refunding the taxes of passengers who didn’t fly was abusive, and that the refund should be automatic.
What isn’t settled: there’s no EU rule that spells out a right to these refunds or caps the fees, and airlines still charge them (from about €15 to €40). Whether those fees are lawful outside Spain hasn’t been decided by a top court; Portugal’s DECO has complained to the regulator, and in the UK BA deducts a “reasonable service charge”. The new EU passenger-rights rules (Regulation 2026/2202, applying from October 2027) don’t, as far as we can find, change this.
Flyback is not a law firm. This tool is free; you claim directly from the airline and keep everything. General information, not legal advice.