UK airline regulator orders Ryanair to compensate travellers for delayed flights, EU court ruling cheers consumers

The issue of delayed flights and harried passengers are nearing a solution after the European Court of Justice ordered carriers to compensate distressed passengers. Emboldened by the court ruling, the U.K. aviation regulator has announced action against Ryanair for a speedy compensation pay-out to passengers involved in delayed flights’ complaints.

According to the ECJ ruling:

“The airline must ensure the maintenance and proper functioning of all aircrafts used for commercial activities. No component of an aircraft is indestructible; these situations are inherent in the normal operations of an airline. Therefore, when a flight is cancelled due to unforeseen technical errors, the airline remains obliged to pay compensation to its passengers.”

The Civil Aviation Authority said it is resorting to enforcement action because Ryanair has not been complying with the law and it wanted to ensure that the interests of U.K. passengers are protected. The regulator warned the budget airline that it will face court action if it does not change its policy.

Floodgate of claims

The ruling from the ECJ is expected to open the floodgates for compensation claims against many aviation firms with amounts running into millions of pounds. The claim can be as much as €600 (AU$946) per head. The regulator said claims made by passengers against Ryanair, Flybe, Thomas Cook, Jet2 and WizzAir had been pending as it was waiting for the ruling of the European court involving Dutch airline KLM, The Guardian reported.

Many airlines, particularly budget carriers, have been rejecting compensation claims from passengers, citing the pending outcome in the KLM case. Kevin Clarke, flight delay lawyer with solicitors Bott & Co, said it already had 15,000 cases pending against various airlines, with Ryanair topping the list.

As soon as the judgment was handed down, the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority revealed that it was “not satisfied” with the way Ryanair was handling compensation claims over disrupted services caused by routine technical faults.

The European court gave its verdict on a case against KLM over a flight it operated in 2009, from Quito in Ecuador to Amsterdam in which Corina van der Lans was a pasenger. The flight was delayed by 29 hours. Though the passenger sought compensation, it was rejected as KLM argued that it will not take responsibility for technical problems that emerged before takeoff.

Ryanair response

Ryanair in its reply to the CAA rejected the charges and claimed that it has been complying with Court of Appeal rulings and was “unsure why the CAA has threatened enforcement action”.

Ryanair’s director of customer service, Fiona Kearns said: “Ryanair has requested an early meeting with the CAA to clarify any misunderstandings that may have arisen in dealing with some historic cases.”

In a letter to the regulator, Ryanair said it was surprised by the contents of the regulator's letter since “Ryanair is not at issue with the CAA on these points”.

“It is our current policy to settle technical delay claims, and also to accept claims made within six years of the date of the delay and this will continue to be our policy,” it said. “We apologize sincerely if there has been any miscommunication of this policy with your office.”

For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below.