Summer is here and no doubt you've been scrimping so you can get on a plane and go somewhere where you don't have to work but have fun and relaxation. There’s nothing more relaxing than a vacation, right? Well, many people are currently panicking, fearing their holiday plans could be disrupted by a strike by budget airline Ryanair. Since everything is online, it can be difficult to figure out what to do if your Ryanair flight is cancelled. You don't have to worry, though, because we've done the research, so you don't have to worry because you already have enough to do if your flight ends up being cancelled.
Since traveling is stressful enough, having a flight canceled really - for lack of a better term - adds insult to injury. According to the Consumer Affairs Editor of The Irish Times , your rights as passengers are actually protected by the EU. Thank you! This still covers British passengers despite Brexit.
"Under EU Article 261, airlines must offer passengers affected by flight cancellations a full refund or reroute the passenger to the next available flight or a later time that suits the passenger. If you choose a refund, the airline Responsibility to you ends if you request that you be placed on the next available flight, and the airline must provide care and assistance until you can take another flight.”
So your rights are technically protected, but what do you do if your flight is unfortunately cancelled? Ryanair itself issued the following statement about the cancellations at the end of July, according to Express : “We have contacted all affected passengers via email and text message (last Wednesday) and informed them of their options for a full refund or Free transfers All passengers with canceled flights on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th have been rescheduled to alternative flights or refunded over the weekend." This is supported by advice on their website, which explains your options if your flight is cancelled. various options.
The BBC also reports that you can claim a refund if your outbound flight is canceled and you no longer intend to use your return flight. In the same report, the BBC quoted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as saying, referring to a series of previous flight cancellations, adding that "if Ryanair fails to provide seats on an alternative Ryanair flight within a reasonable time, you have You can book with other airlines at no additional cost.”
But are users entitled to any compensation? Adam Ewart, founder and CEO of luggage transport company Send My Bag, offered expert advice to affected passengers in an interview with Express .
"Airlines often try to avoid compensation because of 'exceptional circumstances' clauses - and unfortunately strikes are not considered extraordinary circumstances."
Regarding the strike on July 25 and 26, Sky quoted a spokesperson for the airline as saying: "Ryanair fully complies with all EU261 legislation, but as these flight cancellations are due to extraordinary circumstances, no compensation will be required. Under EU261 legislation "No compensation is required when the union's actions are unreasonable and completely beyond the airline's control."
Meanwhile, CAA countered:
"We note that the latest strike action was not initiated by Ryanair's UK employees, but by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, taking into account previous court rulings, which concluded that when a flight cancellation is due to a strike by the airline's employees, if the airline does not If the airline warns passengers of a flight cancellation at least two weeks before departure, the airline must pay compensation to the passenger for the cancellation.”
According to the Mirror , the European Court of Justice passed a ruling in early 2018 stating that "a 'wildcat strike' by flight staff...does not constitute an 'exceptional circumstance.'" The newspaper also noted that the Civil Aviation Authority encouraged passengers to apply for compensation regardless of the situation. How, according to those terms, but also adds that airlines have a clause in their contracts with customers that requires them to sue personally to obtain compensation rather than through legal resources, so that's something to keep in mind.
