Due to 4 hour Spanish Air Traffic Control (ATC) slot delays the flights from Lanzarote to Dublin and to Brussels Charleroi have now been cancelled. Due to the refusal of Oslo Torp Airport to remain open after 15:00hrs CET the Oslo (Torp) to Frankfurt Hahn flight is also cancelled. Ryanair sincerely apologise to passengers for these cancellations which are beyond our control.
Ryanair intends to operate the remaining flight schedule for today. Weather conditions are still causing some limited delays however passengers should present at the airport as normal. Please consult the Ryanair website to monitor live flight information.
Latest flight information is available here and will be continuously updated throughout the day.
Ryanair apologises sincerely for any disruption to passengers as a result of the adverse weather across Europe.
Passengers who were due to travel and were booked to travel on one of the below cancelled flights can move to the next available flight free of charge or apply for a refund on their unused flight(s) by clicking on one of the below links
The incoming flight from Charleroi could not land in Lanzarote Thursday morning (24 December) due to bad weather. It was diverted to Fuerteventura, from where a shuttle to Lanzarote was organised for the incoming passengers. Such a shuttle could not be organised in the opposite direction for the passengers flying to Belgium. Those passengers can take the next available flight to Charleroi free of charge, if they can find a seat, which is far from granted in this period when all planes are fully booked.
I am one of the passangers who got stuck on Lanzarote. We were rerouted via Tenerife and had to stay for two days on Lanza, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. At the time I did not really mind because Ryanair staff at the airport assured us that our expenses would be refunded (hotel, food, flight to Tenerife etc).
However, today I got this mail:
Dear Mr ***,
Following your recent correspondence, regarding booking confirmation number ****.
On behalf of Ryanair, we sincerely apologise for the cancellation of your recent flight. Unfortunately, this flight was cancelled due to unsafe weather conditions.
Ryanair is committed to providing punctual services for all passengers and continues to be the No. 1 on-time airline in Europe with the fewest flight delays, as detailed in audited statistics issued by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Notwithstanding the above, there are situations which are outside of the control of an airline such as adverse weather conditions that affect our flight operation.
In relation to our regulatory requirements under EU Reg. 261/2004, we can confirm that the wording of EU261/2004-Article 14.1 is printed on all online boarding passes and displayed at the airport bag drop area. Our airport handling agents have confirmed that flight re-routing or refund services were provided and that the EU261 Article 14.2 passenger notice was distributed. The Article 14.2 notice is also available at all times on our website and homepage flight disruption notices.
We can assure you that Ryanair took all reasonable measures to prevent this flight cancellation which was caused by unsafe weather conditions (extraordinary circumstances) . Please note that when flights are cancelled for reasons outside of the control of an airline, monetary compensation is not applicable under EU Reg 261/2004.
Should you have incurred any further expenses in relation to this flight cancellation, please contact your travel insurer to initiate a claim.
We again sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by this flight cancellation.
Yours sincerely,
Ryanair Customer Services
How about that? Can anybody tell my what steps I can take? As far as I can tell, my Axa travel Insurance through Ryanair only covers bagage and annulation. My VAB reisbijstand is not applicable either, I'm afraid. Maybe together with other people in the same situation we could sue Ryanair?
Do feel free to contact me.
jacky-b wrote:
How about that? Can anybody tell my what steps I can take? As far as I can tell, my Axa travel Insurance through Ryanair only covers bagage and annulation. My VAB reisbijstand is not applicable either, I'm afraid. Maybe together with other people in the same situation we could sue Ryanair?
Do feel free to contact me.
If you have cancellation insurance you can probably get something back (though not all). Note that cancellation insurance is not only for when the traveler cancels, but also when the passenger arrives late at destination or home. Many travelers don´t know this (as they usually don´t expect this and don´t read the fine print). If not, you don´t have a chance in getting anything from an airline. Strikes (and especially those unannounced) are beyond the airlines control and thus the EU regulation is not applicable.
Ryanair are not telling the whole truth (as always). Read the regulations. There are two distinct issues:
- monetary compensation: Airlines have to pay 250 Euro (for most EU flights) for denied boarding or cancelled flights if they are responsible. This is therefore not applicable in your case as the reasons were weather and strike.
- Duty for assistance: Irrespective of whether the airline is responsible for the delay or cancellation, they have a duty for assistance. This means they have to provide food, drink and accommodation as required by the delay.
Furthermore, they have to provide a rerouting in the same class. So you could have asked to be booked on any other carrier in economy class (if there were available seats).
In a nutshell: In my view, it is very clear that FR should refund you the expenses you have incurred. (Don't mention "compensation" - you are only entitled to a refund of your expenses.)
Now, to get this money from FR will probably be like squeezing money out of a stone, so you may have to resort to legal means.
To help you, here are the relevant articles of the regulation, with the important bits in bold. Note in particular that Art 5(3) only frees the carrier to pay compensation according to Art 7, but not from his obligation of assistance as set out in Art 8 and 9.
1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:
(a) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 8; and
(b) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 9(1)(a) and 9(2), as well as, in event of re-routing when the reasonably expected time of departure of the new flight is at least the day after the departure as it was planned for the cancelled flight, the assistance specified in Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c); and
(c) have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless:
(i) they are informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure; or
(ii) they are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival; or
(iii) they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.
2. When passengers are informed of the cancellation, an explanation shall be given concerning possible alternative transport.
3. An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
4. The burden of proof concerning the questions as to whether and when the passenger has been informed of the cancellation of the flight shall rest with the operating air carrier.
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1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:
(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,
- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.
2. Paragraph 1(a) shall also apply to passengers whose flights form part of a package, except for the right to reimbursement where such right arises under Directive 90/314/EEC.
3. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the cost of transferring the passenger from that alternative airport either to that for which the booking was made, or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.
Article 9
Right to care
1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered free of charge:
(a) meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time;
(b) hotel accommodation in cases
- where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, or
- where a stay additional to that intended by the passenger becomes necessary;
(c) transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other).
2. In addition, passengers shall be offered free of charge two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails.
3. In applying this Article, the operating air carrier shall pay particular attention to the needs of persons with reduced mobility and any persons accompanying them, as well as to the needs of unaccompanied children.
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who did the hotel reservation? you? or FR? Have you asked them to do anything for you or did you take the initiative yourself to find a solution? all those points might be relevant.
again another reason for me *never* (!) to use this airline. I had my fair share of cancellations with many airlines and sometime needed to stay over night in places I did not want to as well (happened to me with SAS, LH, SN, OS) but I ALWAYS got rebooked by the airline themselves on the next available flight, even if it meant to have one additional connection. If a hotel stay overnight was needed the hotel was always booked and directly paid by the airline (including the transfer from the airport to the hotel and back the next morning). But somewhere FR has to make savings, otherwise the prices would not be possible, even if not everybody wants to believe it ...
Anyway, good luck with your fight for reimbursement !
euroflyer wrote:who did the hotel reservation? you? or FR? Have you asked them to do anything for you or did you take the initiative yourself to find a solution? all those points might be relevant.
again another reason for me *never* (!) to use this airline.
You are of course free to use or not to use Ryanair.
As for me, I use Ryanair quite frequently. I am very near my 300th FR flight.
I have had until now 2 cancellations at the last moment, which is rather less than 1% of the flights.
These 2 cancellations have cost me (hotel, meals, car parking fee at CRL etc) some 150 euros each, total 300 euros, which adds on average about 1 euro per FR flight.
Adding 1 euro to the price of each FR flight leaves me with tickets still far cheaper than any other airline.
euroflyer wrote:who did the hotel reservation? you? or FR? Have you asked them to do anything for you or did you take the initiative yourself to find a solution? all those points might be relevant.
again another reason for me *never* (!) to use this airline.
You are of course free to use or not to use Ryanair.
As for me, I use Ryanair quite frequently. I am very near my 300th FR flight.
I have had until now 2 cancellations at the last moment, which is rather less than 1% of the flights.
These 2 cancellations have cost me (hotel, meals, car parking fee at CRL etc) some 150 euros each, total 300 euros, which adds on average about 1 euro per FR flight.
Adding 1 euro to the price of each FR flight leaves me with tickets still far cheaper than any other airline.
I feel sorry for you that you had to fly Ryanair 300 times.
euroflyer wrote:who did the hotel reservation? you? or FR? Have you asked them to do anything for you or did you take the initiative yourself to find a solution? all those points might be relevant.
again another reason for me *never* (!) to use this airline.
You are of course free to use or not to use Ryanair.
As for me, I use Ryanair quite frequently. I am very near my 300th FR flight.
I have had until now 2 cancellations at the last moment, which is rather less than 1% of the flights.
These 2 cancellations have cost me (hotel, meals, car parking fee at CRL etc) some 150 euros each, total 300 euros, which adds on average about 1 euro per FR flight.
Adding 1 euro to the price of each FR flight leaves me with tickets still far cheaper than any other airline.
I feel sorry for you that you had to fly Ryanair 300 times.
regi wrote:
I feel sorry for you that you had to fly Ryanair 300 times.
I was very unlucky, of course.
The bright side of it is that I didn't have to fly Brussels Airlines nor go through BRU - not even one time !
Please, just joking.
In fact I am happy for you that you had so few bad experiences. Quite extraordinary in fact. I wonder what the result would have been if you flew with a large airline like BA, LH or AF.
After a couple of faxes (Ryanair does not allow passengers to send mail, apparently) I have received a full refund of all my expenses: hotel, flight to tenerife, food & drinks. It was just a matter of repeating my point: no extra-ordinary circumstances; other passangers had been re-imbursed already; ground staff assured us that we would be compensated. The only thing Ryanair did not reimburse were my extra parking costs at Charleroi. All's well that ends well. Funny thing though: last week I was on a flight to Marrakech that got grounded due to the ash cloud minutes before departure. Re-imbursement is underway, but could it be that I attract cancelled flights?
