Published 6 May 2026 | Updated 15 September 2026 by Kate Acaster
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When does Ryanair have sales? Four to six times a year, with the biggest landing every January, when the airline discounts millions of summer seats in one go. Flash sales run for 48 hours, usually launching on a Tuesday, with fares from around £14.99 one-way. There is no fixed schedule, but the pattern holds closely enough to plan around, and fares on popular routes typically cost two to three times more outside a sale window.
Want the alert first? Go straight to ryanair.com to sign up for email and app notifications so you don’t miss the next sale.
This guide covers when each type of sale runs, how long they last, and how to get notified before the cheapest seats go.
Kate Acaster, Chief Editor, Flight Tribe“What catches people out isn’t the sale size, it’s the sell-out speed. Ryanair puts over 10 million seats on sale in January, covering travel all the way through to October, but on popular routes to Malaga, Faro, and Alicante, the cheapest fares are gone within 12 hours. The four to six flash sales later in the year move a fraction of that volume, so January is still the one to plan around.”
| Sale type | When it runs | Fares from | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| January sale | December to February | ~£12.99 one-way | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Flash sales | Year-round | ~£14.99 one-way | 48 hours |
| Travel Tuesday | Late November | 20% off | 2 to 3 days |
| New routes | Oct/Nov and Apr/May | ~£14.99 one-way | Variable |
If you’re planning to travel with cabin baggage only, see our guide to the best carry-on bags for Ryanair flights. It covers which bags fit Ryanair’s free underseat allowance and which are worth the upgrade.
Ryanair sale dates: what to expect for the rest of 2026
Ryanair does not publish a sale calendar. Flash sales arrive with little or no advance notice, typically 24 hours at most. Based on the pattern of the past three years, here is what UK travellers can expect between now and the end of 2026, and how to be ready when each one drops.
| Sale type | When to expect it | What it typically covers | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer flash sales | July to August 2026 | Sept–Oct travel, from ~£14.99 | Enable Ryanair app push notifications |
| Back to School sale | Late August 2026 | Oct–Nov travel, routes from ~£14.99 | App + Ryanair email subscription |
| Travel Tuesday | Late November 2026 | Winter 2026/27 travel, 20% off at checkout | App notifications on; decide your dates early |
| Boxing Day / January sale | 26 Dec 2026 to February 2027 | Summer 2027 bookings, 10m+ seats | Passport ready, preferred dates decided before Christmas |
Summer flash sales: July and August 2026
Ryanair typically holds one or two 48-hour flash sales in July and August, covering September and October travel. These are designed to fill seats on routes that did not sell out in the January window. The fares are genuine, usually from around £14.99 one-way on European short-haul routes, exactly the kind of fare that makes a trip fit inside our breaks under £100 roundup. Enable push notifications on the Ryanair app. Sales are announced there first, usually with less than 24 hours’ warning.
Back to School: late August 2026
Ryanair has run a Back to School promotion in late August for the past three consecutive years, targeting October and November travel as peak summer demand drops. Mediterranean routes to Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands are typically the heaviest discounted. Fares start around £14.99 one-way. Set up email alerts at ryanair.com and enable app notifications before mid-August.
Travel Tuesday: late November 2026
Ryanair’s Black Friday equivalent has run in late November every year since 2022. The 2025 edition ran through to 2 December and applied 20% off at checkout on most routes, covering January and February 2026 travel. Peak Christmas dates were excluded. If you are planning a winter break or early 2027 travel, this is often the best booking window outside the January sale. Unlike flash sales, the discount applies at checkout across all eligible routes rather than a fixed number of promotional seats.
Boxing Day and January 2027: book summer 2027 here
The biggest sale of the year. Ryanair’s summer 2026 seat sale launched on 26 December 2025 with over 10 million seats. Expect a similar launch for summer 2027 between Boxing Day 2026 and late January 2027. The cheapest fares on popular routes to Spain and Portugal sell within the first few days. Having your dates, passport, and payment details ready before 26 December gives you the best chance of booking at the lowest available price.
If you fly with other airlines, we also cover when easyJet has sales, when British Airways has a sale, and when Jet2 has sales.
When does Ryanair release new flights?
Ryanair operates on the IATA aviation calendar, which divides the year into two main seasons: summer (late March to October) and winter (November to late March). Bookings for each season typically open around 12 months before travel, and the cheapest promotional fares are available at the start of that window. The practical takeaway: routes rarely go on sale for the first time close to departure. If a fare looks expensive a few weeks before a trip, it’s usually because the cheapest allocation already sold when that route’s booking window opened, not because Ryanair is holding prices back deliberately.
For summer 2026, Ryanair opened bookings in autumn 2025 and launched a major seat sale on 26 December 2025, discounting over 10 million seats with a booking deadline of 8 February 2026. For winter routes, Ryanair announces new destinations in spring and typically holds a promotional launch window in April and May.
The practical implication: the cheapest fares are available at the start of the booking window, not in the weeks before travel. If you are planning a summer trip, the January sale is your best opportunity. For winter or spring travel, watch for announcements in April and May.
Ryanair is also opportunistic with flash sales, which can appear any time the airline wants to fill capacity on a specific route or respond to a news event. These are harder to predict but often deliver the lowest fares outside the main seasonal windows.
Ryanair’s annual sale calendar
January: the biggest sale of the year
January is when Ryanair moves the most discounted seats. In January 2026, the airline ran what it called its “Pig seat sale,” discounting over 10 million seats for summer travel between March and October, with a booking deadline of 8 February. Starting prices were around £12.99 one-way from UK airports on shorter routes to Spain, Portugal, and Central Europe.
This is the sale to prioritise for summer holidays. The cheapest seats on popular routes sell quickly. Book Spain or the Canary Islands and expect the lowest fares to go within days. Routes to Eastern Europe and the Balkans tend to hold discounted fares longer. Ryanair’s Tirana route from Stansted and Birmingham is one example, covered in our Albania flight deals roundup. Prague and Croatia’s coastal airports at Split, Zadar and Dubrovnik follow the same pattern, covered in our Prague on a budget guide and our cheap holidays in Croatia guide.
Ryanair doesn’t publish next year’s sale calendar in advance, but the pattern holds closely enough to plan around. The table below sets out what to expect for the rest of 2026.
Boxing Day and late December
Ryanair often uses the Christmas period to launch or pre-announce its summer seat sale. In December 2025, the airline launched its summer 2026 sale on Boxing Day with over 10 million promotional seats. If you are planning ahead, checking ryanair.com in late December gives you early access to the summer booking window before the January sale is officially announced.
Travel Tuesday: Ryanair’s Black Friday equivalent
Ryanair has run a Black Friday equivalent in late November called Travel Tuesday, offering around 20% off flights. The booking window typically runs for two to three days, and peak Christmas dates are excluded. In 2025, the Travel Tuesday campaign ran through to 2 December, covering travel through January 2026.
Unlike flash sales, which discount a fixed number of seats, Travel Tuesday typically applies the 20% discount at checkout across most routes. This makes it worth using even if you are booking a specific route where the starting prices are not in promotional territory.
Autumn: winter schedule launch
When Ryanair announces its winter schedule in April and May, promotional fares are often available on new routes. These are not headline sales but are worth monitoring if you are booking travel for November through to March. New routes in particular tend to launch with lower fares to stimulate demand.
How Ryanair flash sales work
Ryanair’s flash sales run for 48 hours, usually starting on a Tuesday and ending at midnight on Wednesday. They are announced with little or no advance warning, typically through the Ryanair app and Ryanair’s social media accounts, before email notifications go out.
The fares are genuine. In January 2026, Ryanair offered 100,000 seats at €16.99 one-way in a 48-hour sale. In April 2026, another flash sale offered fares from €16.99 across more than 230 destinations, covering travel in May and June. These are not teaser rates for a handful of obscure routes: the April sale covered the full Ryanair network.
Flash sales typically cover travel one to three months ahead. They rarely apply to peak summer dates, school holidays, or Christmas. If you are flexible on dates, flash sales are the most consistent source of genuinely low fares outside the January sale.
Ryanair runs four to six flash sales per year, but there is no published schedule. The only reliable way to catch them is to set up notifications in advance. The 48-hour window is not forgiving on popular routes: Malaga, Alicante, and Faro seats at the promotional price typically sell within the first 12 hours.
How to get notified of Ryanair sales
The Ryanair app push notification is the fastest channel. Sales are announced there first, before emails and before most social media posts go live. Enable notifications on the app as a minimum if you want to book during a 48-hour window without missing the cheapest seats.
Want the sale filtered down to the best routes, rather than combing through it yourself? Our own flight deals hub tracks live, verified fares across every UK airline in one place, updated as Ryanair sales go live.
| Method | What you get | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair app | Push notification at launch
Fastest | Immediate |
| Email alerts | Sale announcement email | 1 to 3 hours after launch |
| X / Twitter | @Ryanair sale posts | Within 1 to 2 hours |
| Flight Tribe deals hub | Live, verified fares filtered for you | Within hours of launch |
Tips for getting the cheapest Ryanair fares
Booking during a sale is the single biggest factor. Beyond that, the following approaches consistently make a difference.
- Book early in the morning. Ryanair adds seats to sales in batches. Checking at 9am when a 48-hour flash sale launches gives you the widest choice before popular routes sell out.
- Travel on a Tuesday or Wednesday. These are consistently the cheapest departure days on Ryanair. Weekend and Friday departures are more expensive even during sale periods.
- Be flexible on route. The lowest fares in any sale are on routes where Ryanair faces less competition. Less popular routes and smaller airports tend to have more seats at the promotional price.
- Avoid school holidays. Ryanair does not deeply discount peak summer or school holiday dates. The promotional fares in January sales typically exclude August and the main school half-term periods.
- Add baggage in advance. Ryanair’s cabin bag fees are lower when added online in advance than at the airport gate. See our guide to Ryanair hand luggage rules and fees before confirming the booking.
- Set price alerts between sales. Google Flights and Skyscanner both allow price alerts on specific routes. These catch fare drops outside formal sale windows, which happen when Ryanair adjusts seat allocation on lower-demand routes.
Want a full breakdown of flight booking strategy? Our guide to how to get cheap flights from the UK covers which days of the week and months of the year deliver the lowest fares across all UK airlines.
What to do if you miss a Ryanair sale
Missing a flash sale isn’t the end of the story. A few practical steps can still catch the next one, or turn up a cheaper fare in the meantime.
Sales on popular routes sell out within hours. If you miss a flash sale or the January seat sale, your options are limited.
- Wait for the next flash sale. Ryanair runs four to six per year, so the wait is rarely more than six to eight weeks. Set up app notifications so you are ready when the next one drops.
- Check the Ryanair fare calendar. Go to ryanair.com, select your route, and view prices across the month. Even outside formal sales, midweek departures in shoulder season can be significantly cheaper than Friday or Sunday flights.
- Look at nearby departure airports. Ryanair serves multiple airports near most major UK cities. A different departure airport can be cheaper even when fares are not on sale, and the saving sometimes outweighs the extra travel time.
- Consider other budget airlines. easyJet, Jet2, and Wizz Air run sales independently of Ryanair, and their sale windows rarely overlap. Our guide to the cheapest day to book flights covers all the major UK carriers and when their fares tend to drop.
Trying to work out when to book for a specific type of trip? Our guide to when flights are cheapest by season and destination has a month-by-month breakdown for UK travellers, covering everything from Mediterranean summer to Caribbean winter.
Once you’ve booked a Ryanair sale: what to sort next
A sale fare covers one seat and a small underseat bag, nothing else. Seat selection, a bigger cabin bag, and checked luggage all cost more once the sale window closes, so it’s worth pricing them up now rather than at the airport.
Seat selection sells out fastest on popular routes. A sale fare with no seats reserved can leave a family split across the cabin if they leave it too late. Priority boarding is the only way to add a larger 10kg cabin bag to the free small underseat bag. It’s worth booking before departure day rather than paying more at the gate.
| Decision | Why it matters | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Seat selection | Sale fares don’t guarantee seats together | |
| Checked baggage | Adding a hold bag after booking costs more | |
| Priority boarding | Sets whether you can take a 10kg cabin bag on board | |
| Airport parking | Pre-booked spaces are cheaper than turning up on the day |
Frequently asked questions
When does Ryanair have its biggest sale?
Ryanair’s biggest sale of the year runs in January: the 2026 edition launched with over 10 million seats for travel between March and October, with a booking deadline in early February. It’s the sale to prioritise for summer holidays, and seats to Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands sell out fastest.
How long do Ryanair flash sales last?
Ryanair flash sales run for 48 hours, typically from a Tuesday through to Wednesday midnight, and apply to a limited number of routes and seats, so popular destinations sell out faster. The fares are genuine: recent sales have launched at €16.99 one-way across Ryanair’s full European network.
Does Ryanair have a Black Friday sale?
Ryanair runs a Black Friday equivalent called Travel Tuesday in late November, offering around 20% off flights for two to three days, with peak Christmas dates excluded. The 2025 edition ran through to 2 December, covering travel through January 2026, and unlike flash sales, the discount applies at checkout across most routes.
What is the cheapest price on Ryanair?
Flash sale fares start from around £14.99 one-way, and the January seat sale typically starts even lower, from around £12.99 on shorter routes from UK airports, though both sell out quickly on specific routes and dates. Outside sale windows, Ryanair fares on popular routes to Spain typically start from £29 to £49 one-way.
How do I get notified of Ryanair sales?
Enable push notifications on the Ryanair app, the fastest channel, or follow @Ryanair on X (formerly Twitter) and sign up to the Ryanair email newsletter at ryanair.com. Our own flight deals hub tracks live, verified fares across every UK airline, and our guide to last-minute flight prices covers how they compare to sale fares.
A sale fare is just the start. The guides below cover the practical side of flying Ryanair, from cabin bag sizing and hand luggage rules to refunds and travel insurance.
When is the next Ryanair sale in 2026?
Ryanair doesn’t pre-announce sale dates. Based on recent years, expect summer flash sales in July and August, a Back to School promotion in late August, Travel Tuesday in late November, and the main Boxing Day and January sale for summer 2027 bookings. Enable push notifications on the Ryanair app for the fastest alert.
If you’re comparing deals across airlines, it’s also worth knowing how easyJet pricing patterns differ from Ryanair’s. For a fuller comparison, our guide to how Ryanair compares to Jet2 and easyJet breaks down each carrier’s sale strategy side by side. If you’re also considering full-service carriers, British Airways sale dates follow a separate calendar worth bookmarking.
Everything you need to know about Ryanair
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Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
How Kate works
Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
Editorial standards
Flight Tribe covers deals and travel advice for readers first. Affiliate links do not decide whether an offer is worth writing about.
