Most Ryanair fares are non-refundable if you cancel the trip yourself, but that doesn’t mean that this low-cost airline never gives refunds.
You can generally get a Ryanair refund when the carrier cancels the flight or a qualifying disruption under regulations EU261 and UK261 occurs.
What you get back depends on what happened, but can include the ticket price, any unused taxes, and sometimes reasonable expenses such as meals or a hotel while you waited.
If Ryanair cancels your flight or it's delayed 5+ hours, you're owed a full refund within 7 days. Here are the rules and how to request your refund.
Key takeaways
- Refunds are generally available when it’s Ryanair that cancels the flight, not the passenger.
- Flights cancelled by Ryanair trigger a passenger’s choice between a refund, re-routing, or changing the flight.
- With delays of 5 hours or more, passengers can simply choose not to travel and request a refund.
- Ryanair refund requests are processed via the link sent after a disruption or in the My Booking section of the website or app.
- Unused government taxes may be refundable if you actually paid them as part of the fare.
- Refunds vs. compensation: a refund returns the price of an unused flight. Compensation is a separate payment that’s possible if the situation meets UK261 or EU261 passenger rights rules.
When Ryanair gives you a refund
There are 3 components to the Ryanair refund policy: flights cancelled or missed by you, flights cancelled by Ryanair, and significantly delayed flights.
| Situation | Refund? | Legal basis |
| Ryanair cancels your flight | Yes. You can choose a refund instead of re-routing. | EU261 Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8(1) |
| Your Ryanair flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, and you decide not to travel | Yes. You can request a refund for the unused ticket. | EU261 Article 6(1)(c)(iii) and Article 8(1)(a) |
| You cancel the booking yourself | Usually no. Ryanair fares are non-refundable unless a specific exception applies. | Ryanair fare conditions/refund policy |
Can you cancel a Ryanair flight and get a refund?
With Ryanair, if you can’t make your flight, regardless of the fare class you booked, refunds aren’t possible unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Those circumstances where Ryanair would actually consider a ticket refund are:
- If someone in your booking dies before your flight; or
- An immediate family member who isn’t on your booking passes away within 10 days of the flight.
You’ll need the death certificate/notice in order to prove the situation.
The only flexibility you have is in purchasing the Flexi Plus fare class. There’ll be no Ryanair refund, but you can make flight changes (date, time, or route). If you do, paying the difference in fare price is up to you.
Refund for a cancelled flight
Our AirData tracked 542,393 scheduled Ryanair flights from 1 January to 30 June 2026, and Ryanair cancelled 1,180 or 0.22% of those flights. The highest number of cancellations happened in March:
While that 0.22% may seem like a small percentage, that leaves a lot of Ryanair passengers without a flight. In the case of a Ryanair cancellation, they’ll offer a replacement flight, but you don’t have to take it.
Instead, as per the EU261 passenger rights rules, and more specifically, Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8(1), you can choose one of the following:
- Get a refund for the unused ticket.
- Choose a different re-routing option that gets you to your final destination under comparable conditions.
- Choose re-routing at a later date that suits you better, subject to seat availability.
If you go the Ryanair refund route, under Article 8(1)(a) of EU261, the airline has 7 days to get the money back to you.
Also, if your cancelled flight was part of a Ryanair connecting booking (one reservation, two flights), you can also get back the price of the onward flight you can no longer use and, if needed, a free flight back to where you started.
Refund for a delayed flight
If your Ryanair flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, you can choose not to travel and request a refund under Article 6(1)(c)(iii) and Article 8(1)(a) of EU261.
The 7-day refund window applies here, same as with Ryanair cancellation refunds.
Can you get a Ryanair refund for a diverted flight?
A diverted flight doesn’t guarantee a refund. That said, if the diversion results in a cancellation or sufficiently long delay, the normal refund and re-routing rules may apply.
If you land at a different airport, Ryanair must pay for transport to the airport you booked or a nearby destination you agree on (EU261, Article 8(3)).
What to do if Ryanair refuses your refund
If Ryanair refuses what you deem to be an eligible refund:
- Complain to Ryanair in writing and keep the response.
- If you disagree with the final response, or your complaint remains unresolved for 8 weeks, escalate it.
- If the flight departed from Ireland, escalate it to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), Ireland’s national enforcement body for EU261 passenger rights. In the UK, contact AviationADR, Ryanair's CAA-approved alternative dispute resolution provider.
Refund of taxes and fees
When you cancel or don't show up for your flight, you may still be eligible for a refund of the applicable government tax.
You can only get this tax back if your fare actually included it, and Ryanair says many of its low fares don't.
Check your fare breakdown to see if there is a line for tax, and that’s the amount you can request to be refunded. Ryanair's policy gives you one month from the scheduled departure date to request it.
In most cases, additional fees, like those for baggage and seat selection, are non-refundable.
How to apply for a Ryanair refund step by step
- Open Ryanair’s disruption email and look for the option to request a refund. Click the refund link.
- Alternatively, sign in to your account and click on My Bookings. Once you select the applicable flight, the available refund and re-routing options will be there.
- Choose refund. Re-routing and flight changes are separate.
- For travel agent bookings, you’ll need to get manually verified before the Ryanair refund.
- Keep supporting records. Save the cancellation or delay email, booking confirmation, refund submission, and any correspondence in case the refund is delayed or disputed.
How long a refund takes
Assuming you booked your flight with Ryanair, within 24 hours, the amount will be in your Ryanair Wallet. Then, once you click to transfer the money out, it takes 5 working days for it to go back to your original payment method.
If your refund is late, log in to your myRyanair account and check My Support Cases for the current status and any messages from Ryanair.
Reimbursement of expenses (hotel, meals, transport)
Under Articles 6 and 9 of EU261, Ryanair must give you meals and refreshments once your delay reaches 2 hours (flights up to 1,500 km), 3 hours (1,500-3,500 km) or 4 hours (over 3,500 km), plus a hotel and transfers if you're stuck overnight.
If Ryanair cannot provide these directly, keep itemised receipts and claim the reasonable costs back.
Ask Ryanair staff at the airport for meal vouchers, transport, or a hotel first. Only book your own if they can't help, and keep every receipt.
Refund or compensation: what's the difference?
A refund gives you back the money you paid for a flight you didn’t take, usually after a cancellation or a delay of 5 hours or more.
Compensation is an additional payment that may be due when a cancellation or long delay falls within UK261 or EU261 rules. For at-fault delays and cancellations, the fixed compensation depends on distance and is €250/€400/€600 for short, medium, and long-haul flights, respectively (£220/£350/£520 under UK261).
Your flight may also qualify for up to €600 in compensationCheck your flight with AirAdvisor in 2 minutes.Check Your Flight
FAQ
No. Changing your own Ryanair flight never gets you a refund. With Flexi Plus you can change the date, time or route without a change fee, but you pay any fare difference.
If the refund has already been sent to the travel agent, you’ll need to get the refund from them directly. Otherwise, you need to complete Ryanair's customer verification process to get the Ryanair refund paid to you instead.
No. Ryanair refunds must be returned to the original payment method used for the booking via your Wallet.
No. You can use the Wallet balance for another Ryanair booking, but you can also withdraw the refund and have it transferred back to your original payment method.
