Ryanair Compensation Claim: What You’re Owed for Delayed and Cancelled Flights Under EU and UK Law

If your Ryanair flight lands 3+ hours late or is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, you could be owed €250-€600 (or £220-£520 from the UK). 

Disruptions are more common than you think: from 1 January to 30 June 2026, Ryanair cancelled 1,180 flights and delayed 2,095 flights by 3 hours or more, according to our AirData.

Here's how to claim if you’re among the disrupted Ryanair passengers and what to do if Ryanair says no.

Key takeaways

1. EU261 applies to Ryanair flights departing from the EU (UK261 applies when departing from the UK) and covers delays and cancellations.

2. Ryanair compensation can reach €600 (EU261) or £520 (UK261) per passenger for 3+ hour delays or short-notice cancellations.

3. Compensation is based on flight distance and has nothing to do with the ticket price or delay at departure.

4. Compensation is separate from rebooking and your right to care during a disruption.

Disrupted flight?You might have a right to compensation - up to €600 (£520). Check Your Flight

What is Ryanair compensation under EU261 and UK261?

As a European airline based in Dublin, Ryanair is required to abide by the rules in Regulation EU261. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EU261) is binding EU law. It sets the fixed compensation Ryanair must pay when it is responsible for a long delay, a cancellation, or denied boarding.

Ryanair flights can also fall under UK261, the UK passenger-rights regulation created after Brexit. In general, UK261 applies to flights departing from UK airports and certain flights arriving in the UK. 

A flight from the UK to the EU on Ryanair (an EU carrier) falls under both UK261 Art. 3 and EU261 Art. 3, and you can't be paid twice for the same disruption.

These are the maximum Ryanair compensation amounts per passenger:

• EU261: up to €600.

• UK261: up to £520.

What you’re entitled to if your Ryanair flight is delayed

If your flight is delayed and you arrive at your final destination 3 hours or more later than scheduled, you may be entitled to financial compensation, provided the delay was caused by something within Ryanair’s control.

The amount you receive depends on the distance of your flight and can be up to €600 per passenger. What matters here is arrival time, which is counted when the aircraft doors open, not when the plane lands.

If you’re delayed for 5 hours or more

If your delay reaches 5 hours or more, you are given an additional choice. You can:

• continue with the journey and still claim compensation if you arrive late and Ryanair is responsible, or

• decide not to travel and request a full Ryanair refund for the unused part of your ticket

Not every delay qualifies for compensation. If the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as severe weather or air traffic control restrictions, compensation is not owed. Even then, your right to care and assistance still applies.

You’re also entitled to care and assistance 

While you’re waiting, Ryanair also has a duty to take care of you once the delay passes certain thresholds. This means you’re entitled to:

• food and refreshments appropriate to the waiting time

• access to communication, such as phone calls or emails

• hotel accommodation and transport if the delay runs overnight

If these are not provided and you pay out of pocket, keep your receipts so you can claim reimbursement later.

How much Ryanair compensation can you get?

Under EU261 rules, the amount of compensation you can claim from Ryanair depends on the distance of your flight. Ryanair compensation doesn't change based on the ticket price or how long you were delayed at departure.

If your flight arrives three hours or more late, or is cancelled at short notice and Ryanair is responsible, compensation is fixed.

Ryanair compensation under EU261

At the time of writing, Ryanair did not have any flights over 3,500km. The longest is from Manchester to Paphos (3,416km), so most Ryanair compensation will either be €250 or €400, which is £220 or £350 for UK261. But these are the full EU261 compensation amounts:

Ryanair compensation under UK261

These amounts are paid per passenger, not per booking.

Whether you are owed £220, £350 or £520 depends on the distance of your flight, not on the price of your ticket.

 - Anton Radchenko, Founder & CEO of AirAdvisor.

Example payouts per route with Ryanair

Almost every Ryanair route departs from or lands in the EU or UK, so one of the two regulations nearly always applies:

Your rights when Ryanair cancels your flight

If the Ryanair cancellation leaves you stuck waiting at the airport, Ryanair is responsible for providing care and assistance, no matter why the flight was cancelled.

If Ryanair doesn’t arrange this and you have to pay yourself, keep your receipts. You can usually claim that money back later.

You might also be owed compensation for cancelled flights

You may be entitled to compensation if Ryanair gives you less than 14 days’ notice and the cancellation was not caused by extraordinary circumstances. However, compensation is not due in certain cases where Ryanair offers a suitable replacement flight.

• 7 to 13 days’ notice: compensation is not due if the replacement flight leaves no more than 2 hours before your original departure time and arrives less than 4 hours after your original scheduled arrival.

• Less than 7 days’ notice: compensation is not due if the replacement flight leaves no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours late.

As with flight delays, compensation for cancelled flights is also based on distance:

• €250/£220 for short flights

• €400/£350 for medium-distance flights

• €600/£520 for long-haul flights

Under Art. 7(2) EU261, Ryanair can cut your compensation by 50% if it reroutes you and you arrive no more than 2 hours late (flights up to 1,500 km), 3 hours late (1,500-3,500 km) or 4 hours late (over 3,500 km).

How much does Ryanair pay if you're bumped from an overbooked flight?

When your Ryanair flight is overbooked and the airline doesn’t allow you to board, the same €250-€600/£220-£520 compensation applies.

Besides compensation, Ryanair must give you meals, a way to call or email, a hotel if needed, and a seat on another flight.

Can you claim if a Ryanair delay makes you miss a connection?

If a disrupted Ryanair flight causes you to miss a connecting flight booked as part of the same EU/UK261 protected journey, missed connection compensation up to €600/£520 is possible.

If you booked a connection as one Ryanair booking (one reference), a delay at the first leg counts at your final destination. If you bought two separate tickets, each flight is judged on its own, and Ryanair doesn't owe you for the missed second flight. 

How to claim Ryanair compensation step by step

1. Confirm the disruption. Record your scheduled and actual arrival times and ask Ryanair for the reason.

2. Collect your documents. Keep your booking reference, boarding pass, flight details, Ryanair emails/messages, and relevant receipts.

3. Check whether EU261 or UK261 applies. Check now with our free flight delay checker.

4. Complete the Ryanair compensation claim form. Submit your details and supporting evidence by clicking the applicable situation on Ryanair’s Cancelled, Delayed, and Rescheduled page, logging in, and filling out the Ryanair compensation claim form.

5. Wait for Ryanair’s decision. Ryanair may approve the claim, request more information, or reject it.

6. Challenge the decision if necessary. If Ryanair refuses what you think is a valid claim, you can escalate it through the appropriate ADR/regulator or seek assistance from our dedicated compensation team. For example, the ADR in Ireland, Ryanair's home country, is the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR). 

If Ryanair blames weather, ask in writing for the METAR weather report or the Eurocontrol ATC notice for your departure time. Ryanair has to prove the disruption couldn't be avoided.

Can AirAdvisor claim from Ryanair for you?

Instead of having to interpret regulations or push back against airline refusals, AirAdvisor handles the claim from start to finish. We assess eligibility, prepare the claim properly, and follow through until a final decision is reached.

How long do you have to file a Ryanair compensation claim?

For claims brought under UK261, the time limit depends on where you bring the claim. In England and Wales, you have six years from the flight disruption. In Scotland, it’s 5 years. 

EU261 does not set one Europe-wide claim deadline. Instead, the time limit depends on the national limitation rules of the country where the claim is brought. For example:

• Ireland: 6 years; Statute of Limitations 1957 s.11; 
• France: 5 years; French Civil Code, Article 2224
• Germany: 3 years, counted from December 31 of the year of the flight (BGB §195 + §199)
• Spain: 5 years; Spanish Civil Code, Article 1964(2)

When can Ryanair refuse compensation?

Ryanair doesn’t normally have to pay delay or cancellation compensation when the disruption resulted from extraordinary circumstances. These are situations that could not have been avoided even if reasonable measures had been taken. 

Examples include:

• Severe weather

• Air traffic control restrictions or strikes

• Airport/runway closures

• Security incidents

That said, Ryanair still has to show that the delay or cancellation wasn’t preventable. 

Case study: Ryanair delay to London Stansted -  €250 recovered

At a glance

• Disruption: Flight delay

• Route: Madrid → London Stansted Airport

• Delay category: 4+ hours

• Total recovered: €250

What happened

The passenger was travelling on Ryanair from Madrid to London Stansted. The flight was delayed by more than 4 hours, meaning the passenger arrived in the UK significantly later than scheduled.

At the airport, the passenger received limited information about the cause of the delay and was unsure whether compensation applied.

AirAdvisor reviewed the flight details and delay category, confirmed eligibility under EU261 passenger rights, and submitted the claim with the required supporting information. The claim focused on recovering the fixed compensation owed for the long delay.

After the claim was stalled with Ryanair and then passed on to us, we secured €250 in compensation (the flight was about 1,260km), paid to the passenger in July 2026.

If you’ve had a Ryanair cancellation or delay, enter your flight details below to see if you’re eligible for compensation.Check your flight now

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