EU261 · enforcement
Claiming against an airline in Ireland
You have six years to claim in Ireland, the period for contract claims. Complaints now go to the Irish Aviation Authority, which has replaced the Commission for Aviation Regulation as enforcement body.
Checked against its sources
Time limit
6 years
Statute of Limitations 1957, s.11(1)(a)
Court route
District Court small claims procedure
Used only after the airline and the regulator.
The IAA covers flights departing from Irish airports and flights into Ireland from outside the EU. A Ryanair or Aer Lingus flight from Spain goes to the Spanish body, not the Irish one.
The order to do it in
- Write to the airline, quoting Article 7 and the flight. Free.
- Give it a month to answer.
- Complain to the Irish Aviation Authority through its air passenger rights form if the airline refuses or does not answer. Free.
- Use the small claims procedure in the District Court if that fails. If you live in a different EU country from the court, the European Small Claims Procedure (Regulation 861/2007) handles claims up to €5,000 with a standard form, usually without a hearing.
- A claims service only once the free routes are exhausted.
Which body: the IAA handles flights that departed from Ireland, whichever airline operated them, and flights into Ireland from outside the EU, which the Regulation covers when an EU airline operates them (Articles 3 and 16). A flight from another EU country goes to that country’s body, even if the airline is based in Ireland. All enforcement bodies →
The time limit in detail
- Period
- Six years from the flight.
- Statutory basis
- Statute of Limitations 1957, section 11(1)(a): six years for actions founded on simple contract.
- Safe assumption
- Six years for a flight from Ireland. We found no Irish ruling applying a shorter period to EU261 claims.
- Why national law
- Regulation 261 sets no time limit. The Court of Justice held in Moré v KLM (C-139/11, 22 November 2012) that each Member State’s limitation rules apply, and that the two-year Montreal Convention period does not.
- From 23 Oct 2027
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 adds a new Article 7(9): passengers must submit a request for compensation to the airline within nine months of the actual departure date on the ticket. It is a deadline for asking the airline, not for going to court, and the text does not say how it interacts with the national period above. Until it applies, the national period is the limit. What the reform changes →
Every country side by side: time limits by country.
Questions
How long do I have to claim flight compensation in Ireland?
Six years, the period for contract claims under section 11(1)(a) of the Statute of Limitations 1957.
Who enforces air passenger rights in Ireland?
The Irish Aviation Authority, for flights departing from Ireland or arriving there from outside the EU. It has taken over from the Commission for Aviation Regulation. Complaining is free and does not stop you going to court.
Which court hears flight compensation claims in Ireland?
The District Court, through the small claims procedure. Cross-border claims up to €5,000 can use the European Small Claims Procedure.
Does the 2026 EU reform change the deadline?
Not yet. From 23 October 2027, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 requires passengers to submit a compensation request to the airline within nine months of the departure date. How that interacts with the national limitation period is not settled by the text.