Flight compensation in Ireland: delays, cancellations and how to claim

Which flights are covered

Whatever the cause, from 2 hours’ delay the airline must also provide meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight; after a cancellation or a 5-hour delay you can choose a refund. Care and refunds.

How much: example routes from Ireland

Compensation per passenger for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation on the busiest international routes (Eurostat 2024):

How to claim in Ireland

1. Claim from the airline in writing – its online form or a letter (complaint letter generator). Keep your booking, boarding pass and receipts.
2. National enforcement body: Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) – Air Passenger Rights – The IAA took over the passenger-rights role of the former Commission for Aviation Regulation. Online complaint form on its site. It deals with flights departing from Ireland, and flights arriving there from outside the EU.
3. Court: the local court for the departure or arrival airport, or – for cross-border cases – the European Small Claims Procedure.
4. Time limit: 6 years from the date the cause of action accrued, under the general rule for simple contracts and sums recoverable by virtue of an enactment (Statute of Limitations 1957, s.11(1)). We found no Irish ruling specific to EU261.

Prefer not to do it yourself? A claims company does the work for a share of the compensation – see claim companies compared.

Airlines from Ireland

• Aer Linguscustomer, cancelled, how, delayed,, refunds
• Ryanaircustomer, cancelled, how, delayed,, refunds

Customer service: Aer Lingus, Ryanair.

Airports in Ireland

• Dublin (DUB)0.33 min ATFM/arrival
• Cork (ORK)0.01 min ATFM/arrival
• Shannon (SNN)0.00 min ATFM/arrival
• Knock (NOC)0.00 min ATFM/arrival
• Kerry (KIR)0.00 min ATFM/arrival
• Donegal (CFN)0.00 min ATFM/arrival

Delay causes, busiest routes and seasonal patterns: flights to Ireland · European delay statistics.

Strikes in Ireland

No strikes affecting flights in Ireland are announced in our strike calendar at the moment.

Strike days at Ireland’s airports since 2024

EUROCONTROL recorded no arrival flow restrictions due to industrial action at Ireland’s airports between January 2024 and 30 September 2026. Strikes by air traffic controllers elsewhere and by airline staff are not included. Check a specific day.

Good to know

• Flights from Belfast and City of Derry are UK departures, covered by UK261 in pounds; flights from Dublin, Cork or Shannon are covered by EU261 in euros.
• There is no airline-specific ADR body in Ireland. ECC Ireland advises complaining to the airline first and, if that fails, the Small Claims Procedure (up to €2,000).
• In EUROCONTROL’s 2025 data Dublin’s arrival flow-control delay was mostly weather-related; the other Irish airports had almost none.

Frequently asked questions

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight in Ireland?

Under EU261, €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500–3,500 km (and for every flight within the EU over 1,500 km) and €600 for longer flights (€300 if a long-haul flight arrives 3–4 hours late), per passenger, if you arrive 3 hours or more late and the airline cannot prove extraordinary circumstances. It does not matter where you live – only where you flew from, where to, and with which airline.

Where do I complain in Ireland if the airline refuses to pay?

To Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) – Air Passenger Rights, the national enforcement body for Ireland (The IAA took over the passenger-rights role of the former Commission for Aviation Regulation. Online complaint form on its site). It handles complaints about flights departing from Ireland and flights arriving there from outside the EU.

How long do I have to claim in Ireland?

6 years from the date the cause of action accrued, under the general rule for simple contracts and sums recoverable by virtue of an enactment (Statute of Limitations 1957, s.11(1)). We found no Irish ruling specific to EU261.

I live in Ireland but my flight left from another country. Where can I claim?

Your rights depend on the flight, not on where you live. For a flight between two EU countries you can sue in the courts for the place of departure or the place of arrival (CJEU C-204/08 Rehder); for cross-border cases the European Small Claims Procedure works by post and online. The enforcement body to complain to is the one in the country where the incident happened.

Information only, not legal advice. Enforcement bodies and dispute schemes as listed by the European Commission, checked November 2026.

Sources

1. National enforcement bodies under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 13 October 2026) – European Commission
2. How to claim your air passenger rights – European Consumer Centre Ireland
3. Statute of Limitations 1957, section 11 (revised) – Law Reform Commission
4. Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1 (definition of “United Kingdom”) – legislation.gov.uk
5. Air passenger rights – settling disputes (11 January 2023) – ECC-Net
6. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – full text (Article 3: scope; recital 15: air traffic management decisions) – EUR-Lex
7. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it applies in the UK (UK261) – Article 3, scope – legislation.gov.uk
8. UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 (flights by destination from UK airports) – UK Civil Aviation Authority
9. Airport arrival ATFM (flow-control) delay data, 2024–2025 – EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Unit
10. Air passenger transport by reporting airport (avia_par), 2024 – Eurostat
11. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
12. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
13. C-204/08 Rehder v Air Baltic (jurisdiction: place of departure or arrival) – EUR-Lex

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