Ryanair: what to check and what to do next.

Before you send a request

Record what happened in your own words. Keep the itinerary, payment receipts and the airline’s explanation. Separate a refund of a charge from reimbursement of an expense and from statutory compensation: qualifying for one does not settle the others.

Check the airline that actually operated the affected flight. A logo on your ticket does not by itself establish the operating company or governing law. Act promptly on baggage problems; initial reporting and a later written claim can have different time limits.

Voucher dispute

A disruption refund in Ryanair Wallet can be withdrawn; the three-year booking-use limit does not remove the withdrawal option.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Ryanair Wallet Terms of Use

Next step: Keep the itinerary and receipts; ask the airline to review this provision.

• Only the registered holder can withdraw; payment method/currency and expense reimbursements have distinct instructions. Gift cards differ.
• Mandatory law can provide additional rights; this summary is not a payment guarantee.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-15 · Current Ryanair Wallet terms checked 2026-10-15

Delay

Ryanair sends disruption options by email and in My Bookings. The available choices depend on the delay; a short delay does not automatically refund a used flight.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Disruption options

Next step: Open the disruption notice, compare the available options and keep the updated itinerary.

• An unused-travel refund, airport care and additional compensation have different qualifying conditions. Agency bookings can use a different refund route.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Cancellation

For a cancelled flight, Ryanair offers rerouting, a free same-route change or a refund through the disruption notice and My Bookings.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Cancellation options

Next step: Choose replacement travel or the eligible refund before accepting an alternative.

• Availability, booking channel and applicable passenger-rights rules affect the process; voluntary cancellation is different.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Denied boarding

For covered EU departure oversales, Ryanair’s terms distinguish volunteers from involuntary denial and provide the applicable rerouting, refund, care and compensation rights.

Scope: EU departure scope only; inbound eligibility and the operating company require separate matching.

Provision: Denied boarding and passenger rights

Next step: Ask for the written reason and passenger-rights notice before accepting a settlement.

• Timely check-in and boarding eligibility matter. Missing documents, safety refusals and voluntary surrender differ from overbooking.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Missed connection

Ryanair says it is a point-to-point airline and does not offer connecting flights. Do not assume an onward ticket is protected because the first flight was delayed.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Point-to-point service

Next step: Contact the onward airline and any separate connection-protection provider; pursue rights for the disrupted Ryanair flight separately.

• This describes self-arranged onward travel, not a promise that all resulting losses are excluded under every applicable law.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Downgrade

We did not find a separate cabin-downgrade policy in Ryanair’s checked published terms. A lost paid-seat benefit is a different issue.

Scope: No separate policy found in the checked sources: Published carriage and reserved-seat terms plus official help searches; no separate cabin-downgrade procedure located. This is not a finding that no rights exist.

Provision: Published-policy search: cabin downgrade

Next step: Keep both cabin records and request a written assessment. Applicable government downgrade rights may still apply.

• Limited finding: Published carriage and reserved-seat terms plus official help searches; no separate cabin-downgrade procedure located. It does not establish that no other policy exists or that you have no rights.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Missing paid extras

If Ryanair cannot provide an equivalent extra-legroom seat for airline reasons, its terms refund the extra-legroom seat fee.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Seat terms and Article4.2.3

Next step: Request the seat-fee assessment with your receipt and replacement-seat details.

• This is the extra-legroom exception, not a refund for every seat-number change, voluntary removal or other paid service.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Refund dispute

Ryanair’s disruption email and My Bookings provide the refund route for qualifying cancelled or disrupted travel. An agency booking can require the agent’s process.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Disruption refund instructions

Next step: Use the refund link for your booking and retain the request confirmation; contact the booking seller if directed there.

• A request route does not confirm that every ticket is refundable. Used travel, voluntary non-use and accepted alternatives must be distinguished.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Meals and accommodation

For qualifying disruption, Ryanair lists meals, communication and necessary overnight hotel and transfers. If it cannot arrange care, it accepts reasonable receipted expenses for review.

Scope: EU departure scope only; inbound eligibility and the operating company require separate matching.

Provision: Care and reasonable expenses

Next step: Contact Ryanair before arranging alternatives and submit itemised receipts through its expense process.

• This is conditional airport care, not a fixed allowance. Extraordinary circumstances can exclude extra compensation without excluding mandatory care.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Delayed baggage

Report a bag that did not arrive at the airport baggage desk and keep the PIR. Ryanair requires a separate claim; the airport report alone is not a compensation request.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Delayed bags — PIR and separate claim

Next step: Submit your delay claim with the PIR and receipts within 21 days after the bag is made available.

• Initial tracing and a written expense claim are different steps. Necessary expenses and applicable liability limits are assessed.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Lost baggage

For a missing bag, Ryanair requires the airport PIR and a separate lost-bag claim. Its published processing target is 28 working days or completion of tracing.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Lost bags — separate claim and processing

Next step: Submit the PIR, bag tag and contents/value evidence using its lost-baggage claim route.

• The processing target is not a guaranteed payment date or a declaration that the bag is legally lost after that period.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Damaged baggage

Report checked-bag damage at the arrival baggage desk, get a PIR and submit a separate damage claim to Ryanair within 7 days.

Scope: Check the cited policy’s route, operator, booking and travel-date conditions.

Provision: Damaged bags — report and claim

Next step: Keep photos, the baggage tag and repair or purchase evidence for the written claim.

• The airport report alone is not the compensation claim. Send the claim immediately; applicable law governs the precise notice period.
• Published conditions and mandatory law apply; payment is not guaranteed.

Official Ryanair source ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17 · Official source checked 2026-10-17

Keep your request clear

Ask for the specific remedy supported by your records, attach copies rather than irreplaceable originals, and keep your submission confirmation. If an airline declines, save its reason before choosing an escalation route. Do not send full credit-redemption codes or account passwords to CoinTravel.

General policy information, not legal advice or an eligibility decision. Published terms may have changed and may differ from those on your travel date. Applicable law may provide additional rights. No payment is guaranteed.