ASH UPDATE – Ryanair protests over compensating passengers
Wednesday, 23 Apr, 2010
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Ryanair has performed a dramatic U-turn by reluctantly confirming that it will now comply with EU passenger compensation rules.
The EU261 regulations mean EU airlines are required to reimburse the reasonable receipted expenses of disrupted passengers.
Previously Ryanair said it would only compensate for up to the cost of the air fare paid (see previous Travelmole story)
Ryanair contends that under EU261 passengers are not entitled to compensation, as the closure of European airspace over the past seven days was beyond the control of European airlines.
CEO Michael O’Leary said: “The events of the last seven days, under which Europe’s airlines were prevented from flying by the closure of European airspace highlight how absurd and discriminatory the EU261 regulations are towards Europe’s airlines.
“While competitor ferry, coach and train operators are obliged to reimburse passengers reasonable expenses, this reimbursement is limited to the ticket price paid to those operators.
“Yet the airlines are required by regulation to meet potentially unlimited expenses, in circumstances where there has been a catastrophic closure of European airspace over the past seven days, as EU governments and regulators wrongly applied a blanket ban on flights over European airspace.”
He added: “Ryanair has long campaigned for these reimbursements under passenger rights legislation to be limited to the ticket price paid in the same way they are for train, coach and ferry operators.
“We will continue to work through the European Low Fares Airlines Association (ELFAA) and other industry bodies to persuade the European Commission and the European Parliament to alter this regulation to put this reasonable limit on these reimbursement claims”.
The airline is operating a full schedule of flights between Ireland and Continental Europe and the UK and the Continent, together with a programme of extra flights from the UK and Ireland to Spain, Italy and the Canary Islands to re-accommodate passengers disrupted by the airspace closure.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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