Ryanair has lost a court appeal after a passenger claimed compensation over Icelandic ash cloud disruption in 2010, according to Sky News.
After the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, airspace over a number of EU member states was closed between April 15 and 22 due to the risks to aircraft.
Denise McDonagh was one of the passengers on a Faro to Dublin flight scheduled for April 17, 2010 which was cancelled.
Flights between continental Europe and Ireland did not resume until April 22, and she was not able to return to Dublin until April 24.
McDonagh argued the low fares airline was obliged to pay her compensation of almost €1,130, for the costs of meals, refreshments, accommodation and transport she incurred between April 17 and 24, 2010.
The European Court of Justice ruled airlines cannot avoid giving delayed passengers reimbursement for food, refreshments and hotels by claiming events such as the ash cloud are so extraordinary that they cannot be called “extraordinary circumstances”.
In a statement the court said: “Circumstances such as the closure of part of European airspace as a result of a volcanic eruption such as that of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which do not release air carriers from their obligation to provide care.”