Summary
- Ryanair has been fined €5.6 million ($6.1 million) for failing to compensate passengers for flights canceled during a cabin crew strike in 2018.
- The Supreme Court has rejected Ryanair’s appeal, and the wonderful of €3.04 million ($3.31 million) has been approved, while the Spanish National Court has issued an extra wonderful of €2.56 million ($2.79 million).
- The wonderful was imposed because Ryanair didn’t adhere to EU laws that requires airlines to supply assistance to passengers affected by canceled or delayed flights, as outlined within the EU261 law.
European low-cost giant Ryanair has been fined for not properly compensating passengers for flights canceled as a consequence of a cabin crew strike that occurred five years ago in 2018. With over 300 flights canceled across two days, the Supreme Court and the National Court have issued fines.
Thousands and thousands in wonderful
The wonderful in query is regarding the dearth of compensation for passengers when Ryanair’s cabin crew went on strike for 2 days, on July twenty fifth and twenty sixth in, 2018. Across the 2 days, over 320 flights were canceled at Spanish airports. The Canarian Weekly reports that the entire wonderful issued to the airline sums as much as €5.6 million ($6.1 million).
While Ryanair tried appealing to the Supreme Court, the appeal was rejected, and a wonderful of €3.04 million ($3.31mn) has been approved by the Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), which is rated at a wonderful of €9,500 ($10,347) for every of the 320 flights that were canceled. The Supreme Court has clarified that this verdict is final and can’t be further appealed.
Photo: Tom Boon | Easy Flying
The remaining €2.56 million ($2.79mn) was ordered by the Spanish National Court. While the airline has tried to appeal this and has had it rejected, reports suggest that the airline still might have the opportunity to appeal a portion of this wonderful. This wonderful is rated at €8,000 ($8,713) for every of the 320 canceled flights.
The European laws
The first reason behind the airline being issued this wonderful is because Ryanair didn’t follow the EU laws on the subject of providing assistance to passengers affected by canceled or delayed flights as a consequence of events throughout the airline’s control. The compensation (depending on the situation) can include receiving meals from the airline to even hotel accommodations together with airport transfers.
The rule in reference is the EU261, a passenger protection law that enables passengers to assert compensation from airlines within the event of flight delays or cancellations.
Photo: Tom Boon | Easy Flying
Passengers affected by flight cancellations and delays as a consequence of airline staff strikes are eligible to assert compensation under the EU261 law. Nonetheless, it’s value noting that airlines won’t need to compensate passengers if the flight disruptions were brought on by external aspects beyond the carrier’s control.
Moreover, this law only protects fare-paying passengers. Thus, airline customers using award flights redeemed by frequent flyer miles or staff travelers are ineligible to assert compensation within the event of flight delays or cancellations.
Take a look at our detailed guide on the specifics of the EU261 law here.
Increasing trend
Recent reports suggest that there was an increasing trend of staff strikes amongst European and North American airline operators. Earlier within the month, Southwest Airlines pilots decided to guide informational pickets to protest the state of negotiations for a greater contract in Chicago following a strike vote.
However, Ryanair staff had recently gone on one other strike in Belgium, which led to 40 flights being canceled during every day of the strike, representing 25% of the carrier’s schedule in Belgium.
Photo: Jake Hardiman | Easy Flying
Most recently, Alaska Airlines flight attendants have stated that there might be continued pickets for improved contracts, and will the airline management fail to fulfill the necessities, strikes could be expected in the course of the 2023 holidays.
What do you think that of the increasing trends in airline staff occurring strikes? Tell us within the comments below!