Money News: Ryanair cancellations advice for consumers

Cancelled flights

Ryanair has announced that it is cancelling 40-50 flights a day until the end of October 2017. The airline said that the cancellations are due to a backlog of staff holidays.

Because of this some passengers may be unable to get to their holiday when they expected to. Others may be unable to get home from their trip when they wanted to.

UK Consumers with cancelled flights have protection under EC Regulation 261/2004.

Ryanair has released a full list of affected flights. It will be contacting consumers directly if their flights have been cancelled.

Consumer advisor at the UK European Consumer Centre (UK ECC), Adam Mortimer, said:

“This is a time of distress and anger for many passengers whose flights are due in the next few weeks.

“It’s important that consumers know that EC Regulation 261/2004 is there to protect them.”

What does this mean for cancelled passengers?

The airline has to offer them a full refund or re-routing to their final destination.

Refunds should be paid within seven days of the request. Those who chose to be re-routed then this should be at the airline’s earliest opportunity.

Passengers may also be entitled to receive compensation.

Airlines do not have to provide compensation if the cancellation more than 14 days before the scheduled departure.

Cancellations within 14 days of the scheduled departure do have to be compensated. The amount varies due to the circumstances of the cancellation.

What should affected passengers do next?

Cancelled passengers should contact Ryanair to arrange a refund or re-routing. They should ask for the appropriate amount of compensation as well.

If passengers are stuck on holiday then they should keep any receipts for extra expenses. This includes accommodation, meals and refreshments whilst they wait for their re-routed flight.

It should be possible to claim these costs back on top of any compensation due under the Regulations.