Irish passengers’ hopes of claiming compensation for disruption caused by strikes at Ryanair last year have been dashed by a court in Dublin.
The Swords District Court’s ruling confirmed that no EU261 compensation was due to customers whose flights were delayed or cancelled because of internal strike action, as the industrial action was beyond the airline’s control.
The Irish no-frills carrier welcomed the ruling and emphasised that it “fully complies” with all EU flight delay legislation.
Ryanair said it re-accommodated or refunded all customers affected by the “small number” of strike delays or cancellations.
The carrier added that it provided “full assistance” to passengers where needed, including accommodation, meals and re-routing.
“However, as these cancellations are beyond Ryanair’s control, no EU261 compensation payments are due, as confirmed by this Swords District Court ruling,” the said.
Chief marketing officerKenny Jacobs said:“We welcome this ruling by Swords District Court confirming that no compensation is payable to customers when the strike delay/cancellation is beyond the airline’s control.
“If these strikes, by a tiny minority of Ryanair crew, were within Ryanair’s control, there would be no strikes and no delays/cancellations.”
He added: “This ruling follows similar court decisions in Barcelona, Badajoz, Orense or Pontevedra in Spain.
“Ryanair fully complies with all EU261 legislation and processes all valid EU261 claims within an industry leading ten days.”