Ryanair Compensation and Refund
Under EC Regulation 261/2004, if your Ryanair flight experiences a delay of 3 hours or more upon arrival, or if there is an unexpected flight cancellation without prior notice, passengers are entitled to claim compensation of up to €600 directly from the airline. Alternatively, passengers can also request a full refund for any unused flights within their journey.
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Table of contents
- Ryanair Compensation for Delayed Flights
- You Should Know When You Have a Right for EU261 Compensation
- How to Get Ryanair EU261 Flight Delay Compensation?
- Ryanair Flight Cancellation Compensation: Is It Real?
- Why Is It not a Good Idea to Claim Compensation Directly to Ryanair?
Ryanair Compensation for Delayed Flights
Flight cancellations can be disappointing especially when you have a connection and you have to get in time on the other plane. It becomes even worth when you miss the next flight and lose precious hours of your life waiting.
To make things a little bit better, the EU has issued the EC Regulation 261 that supports passengers who have become a victim of unexpected flight delay or cancellation. The regulation entitles the EU airlines that operate within the EU or have flights to other parts of the world to provide particular services in case of delays.
Ryanair also belongs to the airlines that should follow this rule.
You Should Know When You Have a Right for EU261 Compensation
Every traveler should know that there can be different situations and circumstances under which they can or cannot expect Ryanair cancelled flight compensation. The EU261 stated that the rules of compensation are not applied in case of extraordinary circumstances that include unexpected weather conditions, political situation in the country or strikes.
In other cases a passenger who has been denied in boarding against their will or has his/her flight delayed for 2+ hours can claim a refund.
It is important to note that the reimbursement for the ticket or compensation of a particular sum of money is only possible if:
- has a confirmed flight reservation;
- has arrived to the airport and checked in on time;
- is traveling within the EU territory or to the countries that are members of the EU;
- the passenger is traveling from the third party country to the country that is a State Member of the EU;
- it is a motorised fixed wing aircraft;
- the passenger isn’t traveling free of charge or bought a ticket for reduced fare that is not available to the public;
- the flight is cancelled because of the airline and not by the tour operator that cancelled your package deal.
If you need more information on this matter, you can check the EC Regulation 261 yourself. It is important to know your rights and understand the circumstances under which you can claim a refund from the airline, including Ryanair. It can help you save your precious time and effort as quite often it happens that people waste their time not being aware of all the subtleties and regulations stated by the law.
Keep in mind the following details while calculating compensation:
If you are going to come to your destination with a delay more than 3 hours then you should go, or your flight is canceled, you can claim for reimbursement of up to 600 Euro from the airline.
This rule is among others in EC Regulation 261/2004.
You Should Know Your Rights
As it was mentioned earlier, the passengers’ rights in case of the flight delay include:
- hotel accommodation if needed
- transfer to the hotel if required
- meals and refreshments
- two phone calls or emails
All extra things or luxury things will not be refunded. To get the EU 261 compensation, you should fill the claim. You could be confused with all those terms. However, there is a solution to your problems. You can use the AirHelp service, and that company will do all for you. This is a great way to save time and nerves.
How to Get Ryanair EU261 Flight Delay Compensation?
Ryanair guarantees the full refund of the unused flights in the booking. If you decide to use any other kind of transport, the airline will not pay your bills. This decision is under the control of your travel insurance company. You can get Ryanair flight delay compensation (check out our guide) only if your arrival time is more than 3 hours late.
If your flight is delayed for 2 hours and more, you can change the plane; this option is free of charge. To get all of these opportunities you should contact the customer service at the airport ticket desk.
There are some reasons when you are not eligible to get the compensation. These are situations when the airlines can not influence the causes of the flight delays. They are bad weather, political riots, security risks, and airport employees and airlines’ staff strikes.
Ryanair Flight Cancellation Compensation: Is It Real?
What are the reasons when you can fill out the claim? First of all, the airlines should be under EU legislation, and departure and arriving airports should be in Europe. The airline should inform you about the flight cancellation not later than two weeks before the original departure. In this case, you can not get the compensation, but the company should provide you with a refund. See more details in this article.
If they inform you about cancellation later, you can fill the claim to get both refund and compensation. You can write a request and contact Ryanair personally or delegate to do this as a unique service to save time and nerves.
Is Ryanair Reliable?
100 000s of passengers had their flights canceled during the previous year. All of them should choose between getting a refund or being re-routed with the alternative trip. They also should check if they are eligible to get compensation as well as the refund.
According to EU 261/2004 legislation, if your flight is canceled, you should get the refund and compensation between £110 and £530.
However, there were a few cases when Ryanair passengers got the email with refusing the compensation possibility. As the spokesman of the company said, this was a mistake, but a lot of passengers were disappointed in Ryanair refund policy and stopped to claim.
Those, who got compensation, should wait to get it about a month. The time for providing the payment should be ten days according to EU legislation. Ryanair guarantee to deal with all problems via using a bot application. They promised that all valid refunds would be paid without any delays.
Moreover, they promised that 80% of the flights the next year would be on time. What of these promises are true, we will see. However, today it is more safely to claim using special services, which will do all for you, instead of arguing directly to Ryanair.
Why Is It not a Good Idea to Claim Compensation Directly to Ryanair?
It is not a good idea to claim compensation to Ryanair directly for many reasons. First of all, you will face bureaucracy. All documentation usually includes a lot of jargon and special terms, and you can be confused. If you use the possibility to claim via AirHelp, you will fill out the booking details and wait to get the money back.
After the cancellation of more than 2 000 flights during the quite short period of a month and a half, Ryanair starts providing vouchers for those whose flights were canceled.
However, she can use it only for a definite period and for the next booking or other services offered by Ryanair. For one hand, they excused for canceled flight and offered a bonus, but for another side, is it beneficial?
As you see, the Ryanair refund policy is not so customer-friendly. Instead of receiving a voucher you can be denied in getting the refund at all. In such case, you should be extremely persistent to fill Ryanair compensation form one more time or even more times if needed.
To get Ryanair compensation for canceled flight is not so easy when you are trying to do that by yourself. As Ryanair gets hundreds of refund claims every day, they can be not attentive enough and refuse compensation by mistake.
FAQ
Can I get compensation from Ryanair?
Absolutely! While it may not be straightforward to navigate independently, you do have this opportunity. The compensation can be provided in the form of a travel voucher, which can be redeemed exclusively within Ryanair services.
Can I get compensation for a delayed flight?
Yes! If the airline is at fault for the flight delay, they are obligated to provide you compensation in accordance with the EU Regulation 261/2004. However, there are certain exceptional cases where compensation may not apply, such as climate disasters, political unrest, security risks, and staff strikes. In all other situations, you can fill out the compensation form and await a response.
How much compensation do you get for flight delays?
The compensation amount depends on the duration of the flight delay and the distance traveled. To be eligible for monetary compensation, your flight must be delayed by 3 hours or more upon arrival. According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, the compensation can be up to €600 per person. If your flight delay is less than 3 hours, you still have certain rights, including access to communication (call or email), refreshments (food and drink), and accommodation, which should be provided free of charge.
What happens if my Ryanair flight is Cancelled due to strike?
If your flight is cancelled due to a strike, under EU Regulation 261, airlines are required to offer passengers affected by cancellations either a full refund or a rerouting on the next available flight or at a later time that suits the passenger.
Who owns Ryanair?
The founders of Ryanair Holdings PLC were Christopher Ryan, Tony Ryan, and Liam Lonergan. Notably, Michael Kevin O’Leary serves as the Group CEO of Ryanair123. The group operates more than 500 planes, serving over 40 countries in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East
How many planes does Ryanair have?
Ryanair, Europe’s cleanest and greenest airline group, boasts an impressive fleet of 600 aircraft for the summer of 2024. Ryanair’s commitment to greener skies includes a whopping $22 billion investment in new, more environmentally friendly aircraft. Their fleet is one of the youngest among major European airlines, with an average age of under 9 years.
What does Ryanair insurance cover?
Ryanair’s insurance provides essential coverage for flight cancellations and trip duration, but it’s essential to review the policy details and exclusions to understand its limitations fully.
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