Date Published: 13/12/2022
ARCHIVED - Ryanair passengers finally granted compensation for 2018 flight cancellations
The pilots’ strike caused widespread disruption in Spain and across Europe
After four long years, Ryanair has finally thrown in the towel and agreed to pay compensation to the thousands of passengers who had their flights cancelled last minute due to pilot strikes in Spain and across Europe in 2018.
The budget airline originally challenged the Court of Appeal’s decision that travellers whose flights were delayed or axed as a result of the 2018 industrial action were entitled to pay-outs, claiming that the strike was an “extraordinary circumstance”. However, Michael O’Leary’s company has in recent weeks withdrawn the challenge and ended the “legal dispute concerning passenger rights”, a spokesperson said.
“The resolution reached between Ryanair and the CAA is consistent with a recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU on union led strikes, ensuring a uniform level of passenger rights across the EU and the UK,” they added.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is now encouraging all affected customers to contact the airline and make their claim.
Paul Smith of the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Ryanair’s decision to discontinue the Supreme Court appeal of the Court of Appeal judgment means that affected passengers will now be able to make a claim for compensation from Ryanair if they were impacted by strike action taken by Ryanair pilots in 2018 and we would encourage all passengers on flights that were affected to claim the compensation they are entitled to.”
Director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which? Rocio Concha has criticised the ineffectiveness of the CAA in resolving these kinds of disputes, which forces consumers to wait years out of pocket for compensation during lengthy court battles.
“The government must urgently set out plans for strengthening the aviation regulator’s powers so it can hold airlines accountable,” she concluded.
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