MORE THAN 200 Ryanair passengers are suing the airline after their flights were cancelled or delayed and the company refused to pay compensation.
Dublin legal firm Lavelle Coleman, which is handling the claims on behalf of 120 sets of passengers, this week lodged court summonses in two test cases.
The firm is acting in Ireland and Britain on behalf of Euclaim, a Dutch company which specialises in fighting compensation claims on behalf of disgruntled airline passengers. Last week, British Airways settled 22 claims taken by Euclaim in respect of 45 passengers whose flights had been cancelled.
Under EU rules, airline passengers are entitled to compensation of up to €600 each when their flights are cancelled or subject to long delays, and can also claim food, accommodation and other expenses incurred.
However, airlines do not have to compensate passengers where problems are caused by “extraordinary circumstances” such as bad weather, strikes or security threats. In practice, carriers tend to claim exemption also for technical problems and difficulties with air traffic control.
Ryanair has refused to engage with Euclaim, saying it deals only with complaints made directly in writing. “We will never deal with greedy, ambulance-chasing organisations who promote a compensation culture where people are encouraged to seek compensation which is clearly outside of EU261 legislation,” a spokesman said.
British Airways, in settling with Euclaim, agreed to pay the full €600 compensation due to each passenger, including a group of 23 who were flying from London to Lisbon but had to wait over 24 hours after their flight was cancelled.
BA is contesting a further 120 claims, some of them from Irish travellers, and has filed a defence in a test case which has entered the British courts and is being watched closely by the airline industry.
Michael Rattenbury of Lavelle Coleman said BA’s decision to settle some cases followed a ruling by the European Court of Justice which narrowed the grounds for an airline claiming exemption from the EU compensation regulations.
The court ruled that technical faults cannot be counted as extraordinary circumstances.
Most of the Ryanair claims relate to cancelled flights and some involved denial of boarding. Mr Rattenbury said overbooking was less common with Ryanair than with many other airlines.
Ryanair says it deals with complaints from customers within seven working days. It claims to have the best record of any European airline for punctuality and cancellations.
Euclaim operates on a “no foal no fee” basis, but takes 27 per cent of any compensation award.
Mr Rattenbury said no complaints were received about Aer Lingus.