Ryanair delay compensation: how to claim and what to expect

Ryanair carries more passengers within Europe than anyone, and refuses more compensation claims than almost anyone. Here's how a Ryanair claim actually goes.

Your rights are the same

Ryanair is an Irish airline, so every Ryanair flight, from and to anywhere in the UK or EU, falls under EC261 (or UK261 for UK departures). Three hours late on arrival, cancelled within 14 days, or denied boarding: £220 / £350 for the distances Ryanair flies, or €250 / €400.

Ryanair's process

Ryanair's terms require passengers to submit their claim to Ryanair directly first, through its own online form, before any third party can act. It also has a history of paying passengers directly even when a claims company is involved, to avoid the company's fee. We work with both: when you claim through us, you get a ready-made claim to file on Ryanair's form, we wait for their window, and take over in writing if they haven't paid.

What Ryanair says

The refusals are formulaic: "extraordinary circumstances" citing air traffic control, weather or, most often, a knock-on delay from an earlier flight described as outside its control. Knock-on delays are not extraordinary unless the original cause was. Technical faults are never extraordinary.

The escalation route

Ryanair is a member of AviationADR, the UK dispute scheme, whose decisions bind it. Referrals are free to the passenger and cost the airline a case fee. For flights departing Ireland, the Irish Aviation Authority handles complaints. For departures elsewhere in the EU, the enforcement body of the departure country.

Time limits

Six years for UK departures; Ireland also gives six; other EU countries vary.