A delayed or canceled plane is always painful! Fortunately, the European Regulation is there to protect air passengers. Let’s find out how much you can receive if you are the victim of a delay, cancellation or denied boarding and what are the conditions to receive this compensation.
What is the amount of compensation in the event of delay or cancellation?
The amount of compensation is calculated based on the distance between the departure and arrival airport. The price of your Ryanair plane ticket or the length of your waiting time is unfortunately not taken into account in this calculation. For calculating the same you can make use of the flight delay compensation calculator.
- Flights of 1,500 km or less: compensation of $ 250 per passenger
- Flights between 1501 and 3500 km: compensation of $ 400 per passenger
- Flights over 3,500 km: compensation of $ 600 per passenger
Please note that Regulation 261/2004 also mentions two special cases:
Intra-community flights: in the event of flights of more than 3,500 km but carried out within the European Union, compensation is $ 400 per passenger. For example for a flight Paris to Reunion, the distance is more than 3500 km, but given that Reunion is a French department, the flight is considered as intra-community. The amount of compensation is therefore $ 400 in the event of a delayed or canceled flight.
Reduction of compensation by 50%: in certain cases the European Regulation provides that the airline company can halve the amount of compensation, for example if a flight of more than 3,500 km has a delay of between 3 and 4 hours, the compensation of $ 600 can be reduced to $ 300.
Delayed and canceled flight, what are the criteria for making a claim?
To make a claim for compensation, your Ryanair flight must meet certain criteria listed by the European Regulation. The ryanair flight delay compensation can be calculates at that time.
Departure and arrival airport: all flights departing from a European airport are covered by the European Regulation, regardless of the nationality of the airline. Flights landing at a European airport give right to compensation only if they are carried out by a European company.
The circumstances: the European Regulation indicates that in order to claim compensation, the delay, cancellation or denied boarding must not result from extraordinary circumstances.
The time limit for claiming compensation: it is possible to claim compensation up to five after the date of the theft.
Delayed flight: the duration of the delay must be three or more upon arrival.
Canceled flight: the passenger can make a complaint if he learned between 14 days and the same day that the flight was canceled.
How to make a claim for compensation?
To make a claim for a compensation claim, you have two options:
Contact the airline yourself: After having checked that your flight meets the criteria of the European Regulations, send your request for compensation directly to the airline. The advantage of contacting the company yourself is that it does not cost you anything other than the registered letters that you will have to send. It can be more expensive if you decide to hire a lawyer.
Contact a company specializing in delayed flight: our team of specialists will verify, under the advice of an independent and external lawyer, that your flight entitles you to compensation. If this is the case, we will begin all the procedures with the airline (letter, reminder, etc.). If necessary, we will also initiate legal proceedings, at our expense, with the assistance of an external and independent lawyer. We charge a 25% commission on the total amount of compensation only if we are successful in obtaining compensation. In case of failure, passengers have nothing to pay.
Whether you decide to make a claim yourself or with the help of a specialized company, keep all your travel documents: boarding pass, electronic ticket, booking confirmation, certificate of delay if provided by the airline company. Now you know that in the event of a flight delay or cancellation you can receive compensation of up to $ 600, for this your flight must meet the criteria of the European Regulations.
