How to Get and Complete the Ryanair Fit to Fly Form

The Ryanair fit to fly form is a free medical clearance document that a doctor or midwife signs to confirm you can safely travel by air. You need one if you are 28 or more weeks pregnant, recovering from recent surgery or hospitalization, affected by certain infectious diseases, or carrying specific medical equipment onboard.¹ Download it from Ryanair’s Help Centre, have it stamped and signed by your doctor, and bring the original to the airport. Without it, ground staff can refuse to let you board.²

Who Needs the Form

Ryanair asks for medical clearance whenever your fitness to travel is in doubt because of recent illness, hospitalization, injury, surgery, an unstable medical condition, or the need to use medical equipment or therapeutic oxygen during the flight.¹ Four situations account for almost every request: pregnancy past 28 weeks, recovery from a surgical procedure, certain infectious diseases, and travel with respiratory devices or defibrillators. Each has its own timeline and paperwork, and they’re covered below.

Pregnancy

Once an uncomplicated pregnancy reaches its 28th week, you must carry a fit to fly letter completed by your midwife or doctor. Travel without it is not permitted.³ Ryanair also sets a hard cutoff for flying at all:

Single pregnancy: no travel beyond the end of the 36th week.
Twins, triplets, or other multiples: no travel beyond the end of the 32nd week.

These apply to uncomplicated pregnancies. If your pregnancy has complications, your doctor may advise stopping earlier.⁴

The pregnancy version of the form asks for your name, whether the pregnancy is single or multiple, your outbound and return flight dates, and how many weeks pregnant you’ll be on each date. Your doctor or midwife then confirms that the pregnancy is uncomplicated, states the expected delivery date, and certifies that you’re fit to fly. Signature, date, and official stamp are all required.⁴

The letter must be dated within two weeks of your departure. For a round trip where both legs fall inside the 28-weeks-plus window, one letter covers both directions as long as the return also sits inside that two-week validity window.²

If you had a caesarean section or needed surgery during delivery, you cannot fly for at least ten days afterward and will need a separate fit to fly letter from your doctor.²

Surgery and Serious Illness

Different procedures carry different minimum waiting periods before Ryanair will let you fly, and after the wait, your doctor still has to sign you off. The standard minimums are:⁵

Cataract, corneal laser, or other eye surgery: 1 day
Appendectomy or abdominal keyhole surgery: 4 days
Tonsillectomy: 6 days
Major chest, abdominal, cranial, or middle ear surgery: 10 days

These are floors. If your surgeon tells you to wait longer, wait longer. For anything not on the list, the general rule holds: if fitness to travel is in doubt after any hospitalization, injury, or surgery, you need the form.

After a heart attack, Ryanair advises waiting at least seven days before flying, and only then if the trip is essential, such as getting home from abroad. Four weeks or more is preferred, especially where there were complications. If you have epilepsy, you should not travel within 24 hours of a grand mal seizure unless your doctor says otherwise.¹

Infectious Diseases

If staff have reason to believe you could be carrying an infectious disease or have a visible skin condition, they can ask for a medical certificate confirming you’re fit to fly. For four specific illnesses, a certificate is mandatory and minimum recovery windows apply:²

Rubella: at least four days since the rash appeared.
Measles: at least seven days since the rash appeared.
Mumps: the swelling must have gone down, usually seven days but up to fourteen.
Chicken pox: at least seven days since the last spot appeared.

Serving out the waiting period is not enough on its own. You still need the doctor’s letter.

Medical Equipment and Onboard Oxygen

Traveling with medical devices runs on a separate track from the standard pregnancy form, though the two often overlap. The type of device sets the paperwork.

Portable Oxygen Concentrators and CPAP Machines

Portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) and CPAP machines that meet regulatory requirements are approved for onboard use. For a POC, contact Ryanair’s Special Assistance team in advance to obtain prior approval and a Medical Equipment Approval and Baggage Waiver. Once the device is approved, you also need a doctor’s letter confirming you’re fit to fly.¹

A CPAP machine that fits within your cabin baggage allowance can travel without prior notification. If it needs to travel as an additional item beyond your allowance, contact Special Assistance for a medical baggage waiver letter.¹

Therapeutic Oxygen From Ryanair

If you need Ryanair itself to provide therapeutic oxygen during the flight, a per-flight fee applies, payable when you return the completed Therapeutic Oxygen Medical Clearance Form. That form must reach Ryanair for validation between 14 days and 2 days before the outbound flight.⁶ The accompanying doctor’s letter must be in English and must confirm that you’re fit to travel, that you don’t need continuous oxygen for more than 250 minutes at a flow rate of 2 litres per minute, and that the oxygen Ryanair provides is suitable for you.²

Nebulisers, Ventilators, and Defibrillators

To use a nebuliser, ventilator, respirator, or similar respiratory device during the flight, call Special Assistance first for approval; they’ll send you a fit to fly form to complete. Defibrillators carried as additional cabin baggage require both a medical equipment baggage waiver letter and a fit to fly form.¹

Getting the Form and Getting It Signed

The pregnancy fit to fly form is a free PDF from the Ryanair Help Centre. Search for “fit to fly” or find it in the Special Assistance section.³ For non-pregnancy situations such as respiratory devices or defibrillators, the Special Assistance team sends you the right form once you contact them.

Fill in your own details first: full name, flight dates, and the condition-specific information (weeks pregnant, type of surgery, and so on). Then take the form to your doctor or midwife. They complete the medical section, confirm you’re fit to fly, and add signature, date, and official stamp. A form without the stamp or the signature will not be accepted.

Watch the timing. The pregnancy form must be dated within two weeks of departure.⁴ The Therapeutic Oxygen Medical Clearance Form must reach Ryanair for validation between 14 and 2 days before your outbound flight.⁶ Don’t leave the appointment until the last minute. If anything is missing, you need time to fix it.

Ryanair does not charge for the form itself. The doctor’s fee is on you, and what you’ll pay depends on your country, healthcare system, and provider.

At the Airport

Bring the completed physical form and present it at the bag-drop desk, or at the boarding gate if you’re traveling with hand baggage only.² Keep the original in your hand luggage where you can reach it quickly. A phone photo or scan is a useful backup, but staff may ask to see the physical document with the stamp.

If you need any form of special assistance during the flight, notify Ryanair at least 48 hours before the scheduled departure time. Do this when you book, or add it afterward through Manage Booking on the website.⁷

If You Turn Up Without It

Ryanair’s terms are direct: if you’re 28 or more weeks pregnant and don’t have the fit to fly letter, the airline can refuse to carry you.² The same goes for therapeutic oxygen: no letter, no flight. For infectious diseases, staff can ask for a certificate at the gate, and boarding is at their discretion if you can’t produce one.

The published terms don’t set out a specific refund or rebooking policy for passengers turned away for missing medical paperwork. In practice, incomplete documentation is treated as a passenger-side issue rather than an airline cancellation, so a free rebooking is not something to count on. Get the form signed well ahead of the trip, and carry it where you can reach it the moment someone asks.

1
Ryanair Help Centre. Special Assistance
2
Ryanair. Ryanair Regulations on Specific Subjects
3
Ryanair Help Centre. Do I Need a Pregnancy Fit to Fly Letter
4
Ryanair. Expectant Mother – Medical Confirmation – Fitness to Fly
5
Ryanair Help Centre. Medical Conditions – Travel Clearance Guidelines
6
Ryanair Help Centre. Carriage of Medical Equipment
7
Ryanair. General Terms and Conditions