Ryanair Refuses to Compensate Travelers for Strike Cancellations

Ryanair has announced that it won’t compensate travelers whose flights have been canceled because of strikes by pilots and cabin crew in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Under EU rules, travelers are entitled to make a claim if their flight was canceled with less than two weeks’ notice.

European low-cost carrier Ryanair has said that it will not be compensating passengers whose flights have been scrapped due to ongoing strikes by pilots and cabin crew in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, HuffPost reports. The airline’s stance has been criticized by the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

In a statement made earlier in July, the body, which is responsible for regulating civil aviation within the UK, said, “Passengers have the right to seek compensation under EU legislation when flights are delayed by three hours or more, canceled or when they are denied boarding.”

“We note that the recent industrial action is not by Ryanair’s UK employees, but it is the view of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, taking account of previous Court rulings, that when a flight cancellation is caused by strike action by the airline’s employees, the airline is required to pay compensation to passengers in respect of the cancellation of the flight, if it has not warned passengers of the cancellation at least two weeks prior to the scheduled time of departure,” it clarified.

According to European Union law, travelers who have had their flights scrapped with less than two weeks’ of notice are able to make a claim for up to €250 ($291).

However, the carrier has been quoted by the outlet as saying that, as this disruption to its services is down to “extraordinary circumstances”, it is not liable to pay compensation. Ryanair has also been quoted by HuffPost as saying, “Under EU261 legislation, no compensation is payable when the union is acting unreasonably and totally beyond the airline’s control.”

According to Reuters, both pilots and cabin crew are staging ongoing labor action in an attempt to improve their working conditions.

On Monday, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary told investors to be prepared for the possibility of more strikes and added that he was contemplating shifting planes from Portugal, Belgium and Ireland, where pilots have voted to strike on August 3.

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