Better Health for All

Ryanair has a strong safety record, with zero passenger or crew fatalities in over 39 years of operation,

and was ranked the third safest low-cost airline for 2025. The company provides special assistance to over 1.5 million customers with disabilities annually, including those with hidden disabilities, and allocates suitable seats free of charge for these passengers and one companion. However, Ryanair's operations have significant negative impacts on employee mental health, with a survey revealing that more than 85% of cabin crew reported stress after performance reviews, nearly 75% after speaking with managers, and almost 80% experienced sleep disturbance due to work contact on days off. The company rejected suggestions for mental health support for cabin crew, such as a mental health nurse or first aid training. Ryanair does not provide health insurance to its employees. The company was fined €256m by Italy's competition authority for abusing its market position to limit ticket sales by online travel agents and rolled out facial recognition procedures for third-party ticket buyers, raising concerns about data responsibility.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Ryanair's ancillary revenue, which includes various fees, constituted €4,719 million out of a total revenue of €13,949 million in FY25, representing 33.8% of total revenue.

Spain's Consumer Rights Ministry fined five budget airlines, including Ryanair, a total of €179 million for charging passengers for hand luggage and seat reservations. A Spanish judge also ordered Ryanair to refund a passenger €147 for hand luggage charges. The company's pricing structure lacks simplicity, with its 'Regular' fare sometimes being up to 59% more expensive than booking the 'Basic' fare and adding extras separately. Passengers face numerous fees, such as £55 for airport check-in, £60 for oversized gate baggage, and £35-£160 for name, date, or route changes. Ryanair also uses a 'sneaky message' to encourage customers to use its exchange rate instead of their bank's. Furthermore, the Data Protection Commission launched an inquiry into Ryanair's processing of personal data, including biometric data and facial recognition technology, as part of its Customer Verification Processes, noting heightened risks to data subjects’ rights and freedoms.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

84% of Ryanair's employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements as of March 2025.

The company has not had a single customer or staff fatality in its 40-year operating history, and its Total Recordable Occupational Injury Rate (TRIR) is 0.9 per 200,000 hours. The median pay for women is 72% of men's pay, and the mean hourly pay gap for all employees is 51% as of June 30, 2024, largely attributed to a lower proportion of female pilots. Over 85% of surveyed Unite members reported feeling stressed or anxious after performance reviews and manager interactions, and 80% reported sleep disturbance from employer contact on days off. The voluntary employee turnover rate was 22% in FY25, with 5,602 employees leaving out of approximately 26,000 staff. In December 2022, the Spanish Labour Ministry found Ryanair guilty of 16 infractions for violating cabin crew's right to strike and work safety regulations.

Honest & Fair Business

Ryanair incurred approximately $284.6 million in ethics-related regulatory fines in the past three years, including a €256 million fine from Italy's competition regulator in 2025 for exploiting a dominant market position and obstructing travel agencies, and fines in 2023 totaling $6.6 million for failing to update passengers about a flight delay and not compensating passengers after a strike.

The company has a Whistleblowing Policy and Procedures, updated in 2025, which applies to a broad range of stakeholders and is consistent with the EU Whistleblowing Directive. Reports are acknowledged within 7 days, and feedback on investigation progress is provided within 3 months. Ryanair holds strong ESG ratings, including Sustainalytics No.1 global large cap airline, MSCI 'A', and CDP 'A-'. For customer complaints, Ryanair targets 100% of passenger rights claims answered within 14 days and 70% of complaints answered within 28 days. Ryanair has an Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policy, approved in 2022 and reviewed annually, which includes regular training for relevant employees and third-party due diligence. The company's Sustainability Statement has been subject to limited assurance review by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and its Safety Management System is certified to ISO standards, but the overall extent of independent verification of ethical claims is not specified.

Kind to Animals

Ryanair has confirmed to PETA that it does not fly monkeys and other primates destined for laboratories or laboratory suppliers.

The company also states it does not carry animals on board any flights, with the exception of guide/assistance dogs on certain routes. Ryanair supports research into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and zero carbon aircraft propulsion systems at the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre, to which it will make a further €2.5m donation (€4m total). The company's Supplier Code of Conduct requires suppliers not to trade in CITES listed species and states that Ryanair will conduct risk assessments and audits to assess compliance. Ryanair supports the 2015 Paris Agreement, Destination 2050, the United Nations Global Compact and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

No War, No Weapons

Ryanair's core business is not related to arms or defense, and there is no evidence of revenue from such contracts, dual-use technology development, or sales to embargoed regimes.

Similarly, there is no defense business for the board to oversee, and no defense-related lobbying. The company's Supplier Code of Conduct (2024) requires suppliers to respect human rights, and its Code of Business Conduct & Ethics states it does not tolerate human rights infringements, forced labor, or slavery in its business or supply chain, endeavoring to use only compliant suppliers. Annual training on the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is provided for at-risk functions. Ryanair references alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) as part of its EU Taxonomy Regulation minimum safeguards. The company's Information Security Policy & Procedures state that employee communications transmitted by company systems are not considered private, and employees consent to monitoring. There is no evidence of codified ethical 'red lines' specifically banning categories of weapons. Ryanair guarantees that all minerals are conflict-free, but no percentage of the supply chain certified conflict-free is provided. The company conducts operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is a high-conflict region, without specific safeguards mentioned for this procurement.

Planet-Friendly Business

Ryanair's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions for FY24 were 18,644,168 tCO₂e, which is greater than 10,000,000 tCO₂e annually.

The company submitted a carbon intensity reduction target to SBTi in 2024 for validation, indicating validation is pending. In FY22, 0% of capital expenditure was aligned with the EU Sustainable Taxonomy. Ryanair has a stated net-zero target year of 2050. The company has fully adopted TCFD recommendations, including peer-reviewed scenario analysis. Climate scenario analysis has been conducted based on the IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) Scenario and a high emission scenario, and Article 2 notes comprehensive scenario analysis including 1.5°C, 2°C, and 3°C pathways. The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned a Ryanair advertising campaign for misleading environmental claims, which constitutes a minor violation.

Safe & Smart Tech

Ryanair's mandatory account creation and biometric verification for flight bookings significantly limit user control over their data.

Users face burdensome alternatives, such as appearing at the airport two hours before departure or submitting a passport/ID image seven days in advance, while other airlines do not require account creation for bookings. The company conducts regular penetration testing on key systems and networks, but no specific metrics on vulnerability identification or remediation are provided. Ryanair faces a GDPR complaint alleging violations of data minimization, purpose limitation, and consent requirements, with a potential fine of up to €431 million. The mandatory account creation and biometric verification are cited as violating the data minimization principle. Additionally, Ryanair is subject to ongoing European Commission investigations into state aid agreements, sanctioning proceedings by the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs regarding cabin baggage policies, and a Data Protection Commission inquiry into its booking verification process.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Ryanair has introduced recyclable plastics for over 80% of its product lines.

Multiple sustainability reports from 2021, 2023, and 2024 do not mention any waste disposal violations or fines.