Radical Ryanair flight cancellations: are you entitled to compensation?

Last week Ryanair announced that it will be cancelling approximately 50 flights per day over the next six weeks. On average, the airline operates 2,500 flights on a daily basis. In case of cancellation, passengers could either opt for a rebooking or request a refund of their original ticket. The reasoning behind so many cancellations? Staff shortages, strikes and overdue staff holidays. While the carrier was already facing these problems at the beginning of the month, causing 20% of their flights to be delayed, so many cancellation is also a very drastic measure to take.

What are your rights?

Under EU legislation, an airline is allowed to change the flight schedule without any consequence up to two weeks before the flight. When the carrier changes the flight between one and two weeks before departure, passengers have to arrive at their final destination with a delay of at least 4 hours in order to qualify for compensation. If the flight is cancelled within a week before departure, this is reduced to two hours. The exact amount passengers will receive then also depends on trajectory’s total amount of kilometres.

In this case, the vast majority of affected Ryanair passengers are entitled to compensation. However, for those travelling in two weeks’ time, sadly, no compensation is due.

Accommodation and additional costs

Thousands of passengers were rebooked, which means that your alternate flight could also be pushed back until the following day. Additional costs, e.g. for your night’s stay in a hotel or for food & beverages, that you then incur should also be covered by Ryanair. If the airline simply does not offer you a rebooking, you can request a refund for the originally booked tickets.

Has your Ryanair flight been cancelled? Then check if you are entitled to compensation!