Ryanair flight delay or cancellation compensation
- IATA code FR, ICAO code RYR, with the group head office and main operations centre in Dublin.
- Irish airline licensed in the European Union, spread across more than 90 bases, of which London Stansted is the largest.
- Ultra-low-cost, point-to-point network flown with a single Boeing 737 fleet type; connections are not protected by the airline.
Ryanair is Europe's largest airline by passengers carried, serving well over 200 destinations in around 40 countries. It grew from a small Irish regional operator in the 1980s into an ultra-low-cost giant built on secondary airports, 25-minute turnarounds and unbundled fares. The group also includes Buzz in Poland, Malta Air and Lauda Europe, which operate many flights sold under the Ryanair brand.
Your passenger rights
As an EU-licensed carrier, Ryanair is covered by Regulation EC 261/2004 on every flight departing an EU or EEA airport and on every flight arriving there, and by UK261 on flights touching the United Kingdom. Because most of its routes are under 1,500 km, the standard payout is 250 EUR per passenger when you land 3 hours or more late, rising to 400 EUR on longer intra-European sectors. Cancellation with less than 14 days' notice triggers the same amounts unless you are offered a suitably close alternative flight.
Tips for claiming
Ryanair processes claims only through its own EU261 form and refuses submissions from third parties it has not verified, so file directly with your booking reference and the exact name of every passenger. Do not accept the airline's first answer if it blames air traffic control in general terms: strikes by Ryanair's own pilots or cabin crew are not extraordinary circumstances and remain payable. Keep the boarding pass, the delay notifications sent to your phone and a photo of the departure board, because Ryanair rarely issues written delay certificates.
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