THE AGENT CLAIMS DIRECTORY · RYANAIR

Ryanair cancelled your client’s flight — and why the process is different

Written for travel agents by Nathan Zarcaro, founder of MyAirAdvocate · Updated August 2026

A Ryanair cancellation with under 14 days’ notice pays €250–€400 per passenger under EC261. The process is unlike any other airline in this directory: claims go only through Ryanair’s own portal, from your client’s myryanair account. A letter on agency letterhead gets form-rejected.

QUALIFY IT

Does it qualify?

The Article 5(1)(c) notice test is the same as everywhere: under 7 days pays unless the re-route was tight; 7 to 13 days has wider windows; 14 days or more exempts compensation.

Ryanair is an EU carrier, so both EU departures and EU arrivals on its own metal are covered.

THE MONEY

What is it worth?

€250

Under 1,500 km

€400

1,500–3,500 km

€600

Over 3,500 km

Per passenger, measured on the journey’s great-circle distance.

€250 under 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500–3,500 km. The short-haul network means most Ryanair claims sit in the €250 band.

THE PUSHBACK

What Ryanair will say

Expect the first answer to be no, citing extraordinary circumstances. A lot of those refusals fall apart when you ask for the specific cause and the evidence behind it.

Crew shortages and aircraft availability are not extraordinary, however they are described.

THE EDGE

What’s specific to Ryanair

Ryanair accepts claims only through its own EU261 portal, and only from a myryanair account — so your job changes shape: you prepare the claim and the evidence, and your client submits it (or you do, with their login and written permission).

Ryanair holds no UK ADR membership. If it refuses, escalation runs to the national enforcement body of the departure country — the IAA for Irish departures, the CAA via PACT for UK ones — or to court.

Ireland allows six years, but claims are usually brought under the departure country’s regime, so the clock can differ from one itinerary to the next.

THE PLAY

How do you file it?

1

Prepare the claim pack: booking reference, cancellation notice, distance band, amount per passenger.

2

Submit through the myryanair EU261 portal from the client’s account.

3

On refusal, ask for the evidence, then escalate to the departure country’s enforcement body.

Or forward the booking confirmation to MyAirAdvocate and this claim is prepared for you — flights watched, the cancellation detected, evidence assembled, deadlines tracked.

See how it works →

AGENTS ASK

Questions agents ask

Can the agency submit on the client’s behalf?

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Only through the client’s myryanair account. Agency-letterhead submissions are rejected by the process, not on the merits.

Ryanair offered a voucher — should the client take it?

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A voucher is not compensation. Article 7 is cash unless your client agrees in writing to an alternative.

Where does an unresolved claim go?

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To the national enforcement body of the departure country — the IAA in Ireland, the CAA through PACT in the UK.

How long do we have?

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Six years in Ireland, though the applicable limitation follows the itinerary’s governing regime.

They rebooked themselves — does that weaken it?

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No, but keep the receipts; re-routing costs may be recoverable alongside compensation.

General information for travel professionals, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate prepares claims; it does not represent passengers and takes no percentage of any compensation.