ASH UPDATE – EU passenger compensation rules called into question
Ryanair has changed its stance of only reimbursing stranded passengers to the limit of their fare paid and no additional expenses.
Earlier the no-frills airline appeared to defy EU airline compensation rules with CEO Michael O’Leary saying: "While will will consider all passenger requests for reimbursement of reasonable receipted exepnses over the past week, any such reimbursement will be limited – as it is in the case of rail, coach and ferry passengers – to the original air fare paid by each passenger."
Ryanair has since agreed to comply with the rules but is to lobby for a rule change (see new TravelMole story).
Chief executive Mike Carrivick said “The eagerness of the EU and the UK government to publicly state that airlines have a responsibility under EU Regulation EU261/2004, to accommodate and feed passengers booked on flights cancelled by the volcanic disruptions, is a misuse of the regulation.
Ryanair added more flights from Friday to help bring passengers home following the air space shutdown.
Extra flights will run to Stansted from Alicante and Malaga, to Liverpool from Malaga, to Birmingham from Malaga and Tenerife, to Edinburgh from Malaga and Tenerife and to Dublin from Lanzarote.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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