The low-cost airline Ryanair pays up to 20 million EUR in compensation for canceling thousands of flights due to shortage of pilots. The carrier plans to cancel 40-50 flights every day for the next six weeks because of entering in vacation season. According to internal information, the pilot shortages may continue until the end of the year.
Ryanair is also under pressure to publish a full list of flights it plans to cancel each day, against the backdrop of rising rage among passengers. So far, the company has published a list of affected flights by Wednesday. According to the British media, the airline will publish the full list of flights canceled “between September 18 and 19”.
Ryanair sent yesterday emails to the first affected passengers who have the right to choose between returning money or a discount on the ticket price when changing flights. The cancellations are expected to affect up to 400,000 passengers.
Under EU rules, passengers are entitled to assistance and compensation if the flight cancellation is caused by fault of the airline. Airlines must reimburse passengers for a seven-day period or reserve another flight within a short period of time. In addition, passengers can claim compensation of 250 EUR for short-haul flights, 440 EUR for medium distances and 600 EUR for long-distance flights.
Passengers arriving at their desired destination with more than three hours of delay can be compensated from 200 EUR to 600 EUR, depending on flight duration and delay.
The European Commission (EC) has urged a low-cost airline to comply with EU rules on passenger rights, which includes paying compensation to passengers who will be affected by cancellations plans.
“Airlines operating in the EU must comply with European rules. The passengers whose flights are canceled have a full range of rights”, said the spokesman of the European Commission. He said the EC should not comment on the operating decisions of the airline but stressed that Ryanair must comply with the rules.
