UPDATE Compensation under EU261 for flight cancellation and/or delay

Ryanair is notorious for delaying and ignoring EU261-claims (you get what you pay for?). But if you're not getting anywhere with them you can contact the relevant authority, which in this case is the Italian ENAC: https://www.enac.gov.it/passeggeri

There is also the European consumer advice organisations. I don't know if they help foreigners, but here is the Italian one: https://ecc-netitalia.it/it/ You can always ask them.

The ITA flight I presume was part of a longer trip where you had a connecting flight in Rome. How long was that flight and how late did you arrive at your final destination?

The Naples-Rome flight was just to position us for a return flight to the US the next morning. So we did not miss a connecting flight. ITA did arrange for a bus to transport passengers to FCO (but couldn't manage that very well either - not enough seats for everyone, no idea what the folks left behind ended up doing...)

Try this: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm
Send your claim to the Italian office.

Yes, your bank has an IBAN and Swift. You just need to talk to someone who has a smidgen of international experience.

As for slowdowns, the airport decides who goes and who stays. They chose to hold back Ryan. Happened to me three weeks ago because my home airport had a slowdown and decided our plane wouldn’t be able to land. Gave me a longer stay in Naples. I am claiming for the hotel and a couple of other things with my insurance. I didn’t bother with EU 261 because it was a labor dispute,

@Bets, thanks for the info, I'll try again with my bank and credit card. I mean, I paid for the flights with my card, not sure why they can't just refund that like everyone else in the world.

Things are often done bank-to-bank in Europe. Credit cards function differently here, like debit cards.

But you’re right, I was refunded to my card by both Transavia and SNCF because I used an American credit card due to the trip insurance benefit.

I believe they cannot just put it back on your credit card because it is not a refund, it is a penalty.

I posted about my successful EC261 claim against British Airways here:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/my-experience-with-ec-261-compensation-and-reimbursement

I did not give them my bank details on the claim form so they mailed me a cheque. But I doubt you can expect that sort of service from Ryanair. I have no experience with them, but have heard their customer support is not good. Or maybe non-existent.

FWIW, BA did not ask for the IBAN and Swiftcode; they asked for the routing number and my account number. These are right on your checks.

Thanks Lola. The problem is I cannot even submit the claim to RyanAir without an IBAN (International banking account number, which may not even be a thing in the US, according to my searches so far) and a SWIFT Code (which my bank DOES have but my CC does not). Both are required information.

According to the actual regulation ( there is a link in the Chris Eliot article in my post) the amount “shall be paid in cash”, whether by electronic bank transfer, and order or bank cheque, or, with your written consent, by a voucher. EC 261 Article 7(3).

So there is no way they can put it back on your credit card. The word “shall” is mandatory. And I am pretty sure you don’t want a voucher from Ryanair.

Your bank must have an IBAN number; you just need to find someone there who can find it for you.

But I wonder if you can do this through a third party site that arranges wire transfers from the US banks. I have seen such a company mentioned here—-I believe it is called Wise, but you should confirm that. Maybe you can open an account through them to accept a deposit. Or maybe it would be difficult to get the deposited money back from them.

I'll check with my bank in person tomorrow and see what they suggest. US Banks do not use IBAN. So I may need to set up an account for a wire transfer, but maybe they will have some ideas.

Yes, they do have an IBAN and it includes the routing number. I move money all the time.
I like Lola’s Wise account idea.

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful!

I was going to suggest Wise, because I suspect your bank may charge an unacceptably high fee for accepting the penalty payment. I suspect setting up a Wise account will be relatively simple and the fee will be a lot lower, but then you have to decide whether to leave the money in the Wise account and tap it the next time you are in Europe or have it paid out to you in US dollars, and I don't know what fees will be involved with either action. I believe all the info is on the Wise website, though.

https://wise.com/

Thanks for all this info. I am still dealing with a refund from Air France from LAST APRIL.