Claim Ryanair Flight Delay Compensation

What Are Flight Delay Regulations?

In UK and EU law, flight delays can be applied for if you arrived at your final destination at least three hours late. If a flight took off later than expected but still landed within three hours of its original time, this won’t qualify. All airlines must follow this rule, so if your flight wasn’t on time, you may be able to claim Ryanair flight delay compensation.

EU Regulated Flights

The EC Regulation 261/2004 protects air passengers for airlines based in the EU. Any of these airlines that land or take off from a European airport must offer the same protection to their customers in the case of delays or cancellations. The full amount you can receive, regardless of ticket price, is €600. Ryanair flight delay compensation is covered under EU law.

An EU regulated airline offering a service to or from a European airport must follow these regulations, which protects you from flight delays. Ryanair compensation for a delayed flight counts under this law.

UK Regulated Flights

During the Brexit transition period, the UK copied the EU flight protection regulations into law. When claiming under the UK regulation, the maximum you can receive in Ryanair flight delay compensation is £520. This does depend on how long your flight was and the duration of the delay.

Any flight from a UK or EU regulated airline that arrives or departs from the UK or EU is covered under these regulations. Connection flights from the same airline are also covered, especially if a delay caused you to miss them, so you can claim Ryanair flight delay compensation for connecting flights too. Airlines that are not registered in the UK or EU are not covered, so you may not be able to claim flight delay compensation in the same way from them.

Why You Can Claim

Each delayed passenger is entitled to up to £520 for any Ryanair flight delays. This covers any disruption recently experienced or going back up to six years. If you suffered a delay a few years ago, you might be relieved to find out that you can claim this back. As punctuality isn’t the airline’s strong point, claiming Ryanair flight delay compensation could go some way to soothing the damage.

You can claim from an airline if:

• Your flight was delayed for at least three hours

• Your flight was cancelled less than two weeks in advance

• Boarding was denied due to overbooking

Crucially, you are only eligible to claim Ryanair flight delay compensation if the airline was responsible for the delay. If you try to claim for a flight that was delayed longer than six years ago, the airline is not likely to accept your claim, as this is the limit you have to make legal proceedings. With Scottish courts, this is only five years.

Reasons You Can Claim With Ryanair

• Airline crew lateness

• Airline sickness or strikes

• Cancellation due to underbooking

• Routine technical problems

What’s Not Covered?

The below are extraordinary circumstances, which don’t qualify for Ryanair flight delay compensation.

• Extreme weather conditions (bad weather that won’t allow for takeoff)

• Airport strikes

• Political issues

• Safety issues or security risks

• Decisions by air traffic control

• Unusual technical problems

Sometimes, the airline can try to argue a fault they are responsible for was outside of their control. You shouldn’t let this interfere with your Ryanair flight delay compensation as you can always appeal your case in other ways. The good news is, even if an airline rejects your claim, you may still be able to receive compensation. This is covered later in the article.

How Long Does Flight Delay Compensation Take?

Ryanair flight delay compensation isn’t quicker than any other airline. While the company aims to have refunds resolved within 24 hours, there might be a delay with your case. In some instances, airlines are waiting for the results of court cases to finish before they decide to compensate passengers.

In regular circumstances, a claim for flight delay compensation can take a few weeks. When the airline doesn’t believe they are at fault, but you think they are, you can escalate your case. This will delay when you can expect to receive any money.

What Rules Does Ryanair Have?

When it comes to refunds, all airlines have their own policies. You may be entitled to compensation if your flight was delayed. This is also true if Ryanair cancelled your flight. In order to claim Ryanair flight delay compensation, the airline states that you must have:

• A valid reservation confirmation within the last six years

• Paid a fare directly or indirectly available to the general public

• Gone through check-in on time

Ryanair specifies that their tickets are generally non-refundable, even if you don’t show up. In instances where an immediate family member dies within 28 days of your booked flight, you may be entitled to a refund. If this happened to you in the past, you may be able to receive a refund instead of Ryanair flight delay compensation.

How Much Is Ryanair Delay Compensation?

The distance of the flight and the length of the delay affect how much Ryanair flight delay compensation you will receive. For a flight that was delayed for more than four hours and longer than 3,500km, each air passenger can claim up to £520.

A 3,500km or longer flight delayed by three hours or more qualifies for £250 or £260 compensation. Depending on whether the flight was between a UK or EU airport or a non-EU one, the amount you receive will be slightly different.

Shorter flights up to (and including) 1,500km in distance qualify for maximum Ryanair flight delay compensation of £220. This claim covers flights arriving at least three hours late to their destination.

The full amounts you can receive for Ryanair delayed flight compensation can be seen in the interactive graph below.

Claiming Ryanair Flight Delay Compensation

Some airlines try to make it difficult for you to receive compensation, so you need to make sure you have as much information to hand as possible. When it comes to making a claim for Ryanair flight delay compensation, there are several ways to do so. Remember, even if the airline refuses your claim, you may still be eligible for compensation. Other avenues might be able to secure this for you.

What Information You Need

It’s useful to have to hand the following information before submitting a claim for Ryanair flight delays or cancellations:

• Your address

• The booking reference

• Your name (and any additional passengers)

• The flight number

• The date of the flight

• The route taken

Using a Claims Management Company

The possibility of taking a claim to court isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. If your claim has been rejected by the airline, you can always use a claims management company to do it for you. They specialise in Ryanair flight delay compensation and can solve your case so you don’t have to.

A claims management company takes the stress out of a claim as they have the expertise and legal help at their disposal. Their legal teams know whether your claim is valid and how much you could be entitled to. In some instances, you may not have time or the capability of making a claim for Ryanair flight delay compensation on your own. Using a claims management company can take the hassle off your hands.

When it comes to taking an airline to court, this can be a scary prospect for some. If it’s an entirely new or uncomfortable experience for you, the legal help available from a claims management company could be all you need to settle your claim. Don’t let the thought of a final hurdle affect your right to Ryanair flight delay compensation; get someone else to do the stressful part for you.

Reasons to Use a Claims Company

• In-depth know-how of airline processes

• Eliminate possibility of errors

• No hassle on your part

• Able to quickly process your claim

• Can go to court for you

Suffered from a Ryanair delayed flight? Simply enter your flight details to start your claim by clicking on the button below.

Get in Touch With Ryanair

The airline looks through your information once you’ve submitted it and will consider if you qualify for a claim. There is no clear time frame for processing Ryanair flight delay compensation, so it may take up to 4–12 weeks, or in some cases even longer. The airline will make sure to respond and let you know if your case was successful or not.

In the instance Ryanair rejects your claim, they will give you a reason. If you don’t believe this is accurate, you can escalate your claim to the European Online Dispute Resolution service, if applying through the EU regulation. If you wish to apply through the UK regulation, your case can be taken to the Civil Aviation Authority instead. Following the decision of either body, your last option is to take your rejected claim for Ryanair flight delay compensation to court.

If this doesn't sound like something you're willing to do, save yourself the trouble by using a claims management company. They do the hard work so you don't have to.