Ryanair cancelled flight: refund and compensation
Short answer: When Ryanair cancels your flight, two separate rights arise. First, you choose between a full refund and re-routing to your destination (Article 8) — that choice is yours, not Ryanair's. Second, you may be owed fixed compensation of EUR 250–600 (or GBP 220–520 on UK departures) per passenger under Article 7, unless Ryanair gave you at least 14 days' notice or proves extraordinary circumstances. You can pursue both at once. This guide sits inside our wider Ryanair flight compensation series.
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Which rules apply: EU261 or UK261
Ryanair is the exception that makes the regime question matter, because it flies so heavily between the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe. The rule turns on your departure airport:
- Departing an EU or EEA airport (including every Irish airport — Dublin, Cork, Shannon) — EU261 applies, in euros.
- Departing a UK airport (Stansted, Luton, Manchester, Edinburgh and the rest) — UK261 applies, the retained version of the same regulation, in pounds sterling.
So a cancelled Dublin–Stansted flight is a EUR claim, while the Stansted–Dublin return is a GBP claim. Treat each leg on its own rules. Our explainer on UK261 versus EU261 for Ryanair walks through the mixed itineraries.
Refund or re-routing: your Article 8 choice
A cancellation gives you a choice between:
- a full refund of the unused ticket in the original form of payment (and, on a multi-leg trip, a flight back to your first departure point if the journey no longer makes sense);
- re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
- re-routing on a later date that suits you, subject to seats.
Ryanair's app will usually push a free "move to another flight" option after a cancellation. That is a legitimate form of re-routing — but choosing it does not waive your right to Article 7 compensation. A refund, likewise, is not compensation: taking your money back does not close the compensation claim. And a Ryanair voucher is optional — after a cancellation you are entitled to cash, not credit. See our guide on taking a voucher instead of a refund.
The right to care while you wait
Separately, Article 9 gives you a right to assistance while you wait — meals and refreshments, two calls or emails, and a hotel plus transfers if you are delayed overnight. This applies even when the cancellation was extraordinary: under C-12/11 (McDonagh), care is owed even during events such as the 2010 ash cloud, with no financial ceiling. If Ryanair leaves you to book your own room and meals, keep the receipts and reclaim them.
Compensation on top: how much
Compensation under Article 7 is a fixed sum unrelated to the fare, so even a cheap Ryanair ticket can be worth EUR 400. The band depends on the great-circle distance to your final destination.
| Distance | EU261 | UK261 | Typical Ryanair route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | EUR 250 | GBP 220 | Dublin–Manchester, Kraków–Rome, Stansted–Dublin |
| 1,500–3,500 km (and intra-EU over 1,500 km) | EUR 400 | GBP 350 | Dublin–Faro, Stansted–Málaga, Dublin–Lanzarote |
| Over 3,500 km | EUR 600 | GBP 520 | Longest routes only (e.g. to the eastern Mediterranean) |
Ryanair is a short- and medium-haul carrier, so most cancellations fall in the EUR 250 or EUR 400 bands; only its longest routes reach the EUR 600 tier — see our EUR 600 Ryanair claim guide. On a connecting itinerary booked as one reservation, what governs is the arrival delay at your final destination and the distance to it, not the intermediate stop — the Court confirmed this in C-11/11 (Folkerts). If Ryanair re-routes you and you still arrive late but within set limits, compensation can be halved under Article 7(2) — for example EUR 300 instead of EUR 600.
The 14-day notice rule
Compensation is not automatic — it depends on when Ryanair told you and what replacement it offered:
| Notice from Ryanair | Compensation usually due? |
|---|---|
| 14 days or more before departure | No |
| 7 to 13 days before | No, if re-routing departs no more than 2 hours early and arrives less than 4 hours late |
| Less than 7 days before | No, if re-routing departs no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours late |
If Ryanair cancels at short notice, or the alternative falls outside those windows, the claim is usually strong. Keep the cancellation email or SMS: the burden is on the airline to prove it gave adequate notice.
Extraordinary circumstances — and Ryanair strikes
Ryanair can escape the compensation (but never the refund or the care) only by proving extraordinary circumstances that all reasonable measures could not have avoided. Weather, air-traffic-control restrictions and genuine security incidents can qualify. Routine technical faults generally do not: in C-549/07 (Wallentin-Hermann) and C-257/14 (van der Lans), the Court treated ordinary mechanical failures as part of normal operations.
Strikes matter for Ryanair, which has faced repeated action by its own crew. A strike by the airline's own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance — the Court said so in C-28/20 (Airhelp v SAS) — so a cancellation caused by a Ryanair crew walkout is usually still compensable. A national air-traffic-control or airport strike is judged differently and may qualify. The operating carrier pays: under C-532/17 (Wirth), liability follows whoever flew the aircraft, so check whether your flight was operated by Ryanair DAC, Malta Air, Buzz or Lauda — the amount is the same, but the correct legal entity matters on the claim.
Ryanair's own hurdles — and a calm response
Ryanair rejects a large share of first claims, so a refusal is not the end of the road. If you booked through an online travel agent, Ryanair may require you to verify your identity and payment details through a myRyanair account before it pays — a genuine step, if a slow one. Your right to compensation exists regardless of who helps you enforce it, and a no-win, no-fee service is a legitimate choice. If Ryanair stonewalls, escalate to the enforcement body: the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for UK departures, Ireland's Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR, aviationreg.ie) for Irish departures, or the relevant national body in the EU country you left. Our guide on what to do when Ryanair rejects a claim sets out the steps.
How ClaimWinger helps
ClaimWinger runs Ryanair cancellation cases on a no-win, no-fee basis: no upfront cost, and we charge a commission only if we recover money for you. We check the operating carrier, the reason Ryanair gave, the distance to your final destination and your evidence, then handle the claim and the myRyanair verification. Start a cancelled-flight claim, read how to claim against Ryanair step by step, or — if your flight was delayed — open a delayed-flight claim and check the amount with our compensation calculator.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
Can I get both a refund and compensation from Ryanair?
Yes. The refund (or re-routing) under Article 8 and the fixed compensation under Article 7 are separate rights. Getting your ticket price back does not cancel your right to EUR 250–600 or GBP 220–520.
I took Ryanair's free "move to another flight" — did I give up compensation?
No. Accepting a replacement flight is re-routing under Article 8. It does not waive your Article 7 compensation, provided the cancellation was inside the 14-day window and no extraordinary circumstance applies.
Ryanair blamed a strike. Am I still owed compensation?
Probably, if it was Ryanair's own pilots or cabin crew. Under C-28/20 (Airhelp v SAS), a strike by the airline's own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance. A third-party air-traffic-control or airport strike is treated differently.
My flight left Stansted — is my claim in euros or pounds?
Pounds. A departure from a UK airport is covered by UK261 (GBP 220 / 350 / 520). A departure from Dublin or any EU airport is covered by EU261 (EUR 250 / 400 / 600).
Ryanair rejected my claim because I booked through an agent. What now?
That is common. Ryanair often asks you to verify identity and payment via a myRyanair account before paying an OTA booking. Complete the verification, resubmit, and if it still refuses, escalate to the CAA or CAR.
Sources
This guide reflects the legal position in 2026. EU261 currently uses a three-hour arrival-delay threshold and EUR 250 / 400 / 600 amounts; UK261 uses GBP 220 / 350 / 520. The EUR 300 figure appears only as the 50% reduction under Article 7(2). A proposed EU reform — including changes to the delay thresholds, a nine-month claim window and a 30-day airline response deadline — is a proposal and not yet in force. This is general information, not legal advice.