Travel refunds
Travel refund complaint in Ireland
How to organise a complaint about flights, holidays, bookings, cancellations, and travel refunds.
- CCPC holidays and travel contacts in 2025
- 2,225
- sector referrals to small claims
- 770
- Ryanair and Aer Lingus contacts combined in CCPC 2025
- 942
Check your dispute first
Answer a few questions to see your options before writing your complaint.
Check your optionsTravel complaints may involve an airline, a booking company or an accommodation provider. The CCPC Consumer Helpline Report 2025 recorded 2,225 holidays and travel contacts and 770 Small Claims Procedure referrals in that sector.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus both appeared in the top named trader list, with 593 and 349 helpline contacts respectively. Airline issues often need the airline complaint process and IAA/EU261 route rather than a simple small-claims path.
What to do next
- 1For flights, start with the airline complaint process and identify whether the issue is cancellation, delay, denied boarding, baggage, refund, or booking service.
- 2Check IAA/EU261 guidance for covered passenger-rights issues.
- 3For cross-border online travel sellers, ECC Ireland may be relevant. Small claims is conditional and depends on the trader, jurisdiction, amount, and issue.
Travel pages to build next
High-value subtopics include flight refund complaint Ireland, cancelled flight refund, airline delay compensation Ireland, package holiday refund, booking site refund, Ryanair complaint, and Aer Lingus complaint.
Evidence for travel complaints
Keep booking references, itinerary, boarding passes, cancellation emails, delay notices, screenshots from the airline or booking site, baggage reports, payment proof, and previous complaint messages.
Before you write
- Booking reference
- Flight or package details
- Cancellation or delay notice
- Payment proof
- Complaint reference
Questions people ask
Can I use small claims for a flight refund?
Sometimes, but airline passenger-rights and regulator routes may be more appropriate. The correct route depends on the issue, trader, amount, and jurisdiction.
Who handles airline complaints in Ireland?
For many passenger-rights issues, the airline complaint process comes first and the Irish Aviation Authority may be relevant after that.