Ryanair could have been more civil to a man who was unable to return to Dublin because of a strike which closed the airport last March, and the airline could improve its public relations, a judge said yesterday.
Judge Sean Delap said he was prevented from making any award to the man, who had claimed a sum to compensate him for taking an alternative route and returning by sea from England. However, the judge suggested that Ryanair make an ex-gratia payment to him.
The judge, sitting in the small claims court in Swords, Co Dublin, said the Warsaw Convention precluded him from making an award.
The convention was drawn up for the unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air. It includes clauses on the liability of airline carriers to passengers which only applies if the carrier is directly responsible for damage or delays.
Mr Thomas Knowles, Cresfield Road, Collins Avenue, Whitehall, Dublin, bought tickets for himself and his nephew, Mr David Knowles, to fly with the company from Dublin to Liverpool on Saturday, March 7th, and return at 7 p.m. on the same date.
He flew to Liverpool, but when he returned to Liverpool Airport that evening he was informed at the Ryanair desk there would be no further flights since Dublin Airport had closed.
He was given the information that there would be no flights until Sunday, March 8th, at 11 p.m. and there was no guarantee he would be able to return home on that flight. Mr Knowles felt obliged to find alternative transport home, and he and his nephew took the Stena Line ferry to Dun Laoghaire.
He claimed that the expenses incurred by him were a result of the negligence and breach of contract of Ryanair, who broke the terms of sale under the Goods and Services Act, 1980.
The sum he claimed was £375.60, which included travelling back to Liverpool Airport, then from Liverpool to Holyhead, the ferry trip from Holyhead to Dublin, food and drinks on the journey and the taxi from Dun Laoghaire to Dublin.
Giving his ruling on the case yesterday, Judge Delap said he had looked up the law on the matter, and there was a great body of EU law which said that any contract that was unfair to the consumer was illegal, but this was subject to the Warsaw Convention, and that prevented him from making any award.
"But I think Ryanair could have been a bit more civil to this man," he said. "If I were stranded I would think I should want to be treated in a fair manner and not by some minor official who types a page out of a manual. Unfortunately, I cannot give him [Mr Knowles] a decree, but I think Ryanair should improve their public relations."
A solicitor for Ryanair said that on a previous occasion a witness on behalf of the airline had said the problem was with Servisair.
The judge said all Ryanair was giving out was a sheet which gave information.
"That's a fat lot of good to someone who is stranded in Liverpool. I would suggest they make an ex-gratia payment to him," the judge said.