Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Ryanair customers urged to contact airline before claiming on travel insurance

19 Sep 2017, 3:35 pm

Travellers affected by budget airline Ryanair's decision to cancel hundreds of flights over the next six weeks have been urged to contact the airline before making a claim on their travel insurance.

The airline had "admitted it is to blame" for the large number of cancellations, making it the first port of call for alternative flights or compensation, the insurance industry said in a statement through trade body the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

EU flight compensation regulations require airline operators to provide compensation to passengers for lengthy delays or cancellations. The ABI was forced to make a similar statement in June following the British Airways computer system failure, after a claim form on the airline's website encouraged travellers to contact their insurers in the first instance.

Ryanair's decision to cancel more than 2,000 scheduled departures at short notice could ultimately cost the airline up to €25 million, including €20m worth of compensation payments, according to the Financial Times (registration required). The airline took the decision to "improve its system-wide punctuality", which had been impacted by a combination of air traffic control strikes, weather disruptions and a change to pilot holiday schedules, it said in a statement.

The airline has now published a full list of all affected flights until 28 October, after initially only publishing the flights it had cancelled up to 20 September. The decision will reduce its exposure to EU compensation rules, which kick in when a flight is cancelled less than 14 days before departure.

Ryanair is legally required to offer full refunds or rebookings to all affected passengers, regardless of whether or not they are entitled to additional compensation. It must also cover reasonable food and drink costs where there is a delay, as well as the cost of hotel accommodation where an overnight stay is required as a result of the cancelled flight.

ABI head of property, commercial and specialist lines, Mark Shepherd, said that affected travellers had "every fight to expect help and support from the airline, whether that is alternative flights with a different carrier or compensation for the disruption suffered and other expenses incurred".

"If passengers are experiencing additional costs which for some reason Ryanair is refusing to cover they may be able to make claims on a travel insurance policy, but this may depend on the level of cover they bought," he said. "Clearly the first port of call must be Ryanair itself."