Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Ryanair ONLY

Peterrr

Apologies if covered in the previous 389 pages of this thread... We booked flights for Dec'23 Edinburgh to Dublin and then a separate booking (also with Ryanair) Dublin to Salzburg for later the same day.
The first leg has been cancelled and we've taken the option of a refund as the alternative flight offered was much later meaning missing our connection. This prompted me to look at the second leg in the "my bookings" area of the Ryanair app, which I see has been brought forward by 4.5 hours. Quite fortuitous in a way, as the original EDI-DUB flight would therefore have been too late anyway. I haven't actually received an email from Ryanair notifying us of the changed DUB-SZG times though it is definitely the same flight number.
So my question to the clever folk here is whether Ryanair might be obliged to offer a refund on the DUB-SZG flight, or is the 4.5 hour change within permitted parameters for Ryanair not to have to refund?
Supplementary question: given they have already changed the flight time once, is it now less likely that they might make further changes or cancel the flight entirely? We are thinking about booking the EDI-DUB leg for the previous evening and an overnight hotel. 

leggyno9

I recently travelled London to Edinburgh with Ryanair. They got us on the plane around 10pm, left us there for about an hour and then sent us back off the plane as they were short staffed or the pilot had done too many hours. All shops etc were closed at the airport and there was no information forthcoming from anyone as to whether the flight was cancelled or just delayed. Eventually, around 7am they got the staff together to make the flight happen and we got back to Edinburgh. 
Because there was no information available as to when the flight would actually leave, my husband had to go and get a train home which cost £300 as he had work, whereas myself and my daughter (15) waited to see what happened with the flight. 
I contacted Ryanair and they offered me 250 euro X2 but I've queried this as there were 3 people on the booking. I'm wondering whether my husband is entitled to the compensation due to the fact he didn't get on the flight but was checked in and waited for hours at the airport before leaving. And also if a child/teenager is eligible for compensation.
There is information on refunds for the flight if not taken but can you claim compensation on top of the refund and can you claim for the £300 train ticket?
We have no expenses outside of that because there were no shops open at the airport and Ryanair did not supply food or drinks during the delay, which it seems they should have. 
Just wondering what exactly I'm entitled to claim without sticking myself in and doing myself out of money

CKhalvashi

leggyno9 said:

I recently travelled London to Edinburgh with Ryanair. They got us on the plane around 10pm, left us there for about an hour and then sent us back off the plane as they were short staffed or the pilot had done too many hours. All shops etc were closed at the airport and there was no information forthcoming from anyone as to whether the flight was cancelled or just delayed. Eventually, around 7am they got the staff together to make the flight happen and we got back to Edinburgh. 
Because there was no information available as to when the flight would actually leave, my husband had to go and get a train home which cost £300 as he had work, whereas myself and my daughter (15) waited to see what happened with the flight. 
I contacted Ryanair and they offered me 250 euro X2 but I've queried this as there were 3 people on the booking. I'm wondering whether my husband is entitled to the compensation due to the fact he didn't get on the flight but was checked in and waited for hours at the airport before leaving. And also if a child/teenager is eligible for compensation.
There is information on refunds for the flight if not taken but can you claim compensation on top of the refund and can you claim for the £300 train ticket?
We have no expenses outside of that because there were no shops open at the airport and Ryanair did not supply food or drinks during the delay, which it seems they should have. 
Just wondering what exactly I'm entitled to claim without sticking myself in and doing myself out of money

I'll reply properly later, but he should qualify as the delay was more than 5 hours.

Train ticket + compensation in this case will be the first request.

If he asked for a refund he will get this with no right to reimbursement of any alternative travel. This choice cannot be changed once it has been made unless Ryanair agree.

FTLs are not set by Ryanair. OH is a pilot and she will use discretion (a legal term) when necessary (and with agreement of the whole crew) but there is a firm limit on how long discretionary unplanned duty extentions can last.

Do you know the reason for the delay in the first place? This may be necessary to establish, although if the airline has offered compensation for some passengers this question shouldn't be important.

rflow

Hi, any help much appreciated. I had a Ryanair flight (Prague-Edinburgh) depart 1.5hrs late then diverted to Newcastle Airport. Ryanair say it was due to the weather but I have screenshots showing all the other flights that evening arriving on schedule. Any idea how to find out the real reason for the diversion or suggestions of how to pursue a claim for arriving 9 hours late?! 

eskbanker

rflow said:

Hi, any help much appreciated. I had a Ryanair flight (Prague-Edinburgh) depart 1.5hrs late then diverted to Newcastle Airport. Ryanair say it was due to the weather but I have screenshots showing all the other flights that evening arriving on schedule. Any idea how to find out the real reason for the diversion or suggestions of how to pursue a claim for arriving 9 hours late?! 

The short answer is that there isn't really any way of finding out the 'real' reason, but unless there was something like an onboard medical emergency or passenger disruption then it seems highly unlikely that an airline would divert other than for weather-related reasons (it's disruptive and expensive for them as well as the passengers) or other factors beyond their control, so what makes you disbelieve them?  There have been emergency runway closures at Edinburgh within the past few weeks though, when was your flight?

You can claim via Ryanair's website if you haven't already, and challenge them if their responses aren't to your liking, and once you get their final response, you have the option of escalating to Aviation ADR for independent adjudication:

https://www.aviationadr.org.uk/completing-the-form-for-ryainair/

CKhalvashi

rflow said:

Hi, any help much appreciated. I had a Ryanair flight (Prague-Edinburgh) depart 1.5hrs late then diverted to Newcastle Airport. Ryanair say it was due to the weather but I have screenshots showing all the other flights that evening arriving on schedule. Any idea how to find out the real reason for the diversion or suggestions of how to pursue a claim for arriving 9 hours late?! 

Do you have the date and expected arrival time? Happy to dig through any official weather reports and NOTAMS (not always available) from the time. 

Normally a diversion will not be carried out unless for safety or legal reasons as these typically are expensive for all concerned. 

cbraz

Hi, help would be great as I don't know what steps I need to take.
Flight on 25/9 0625 BFS->STN RK128
Flight was delayed, departure board stated estimated departure 13:50 (Eventually left at 11:58) Flight arrival time was more than 5hrs after it was scheduled to arrive.
Upon discovering large delay (7hrs) I quickly booked and travelled on an alternative easyjet flight as suggested by Swissport staff.

I'm bewildered by the lack of clear steps to follow for compensation. I'm hoping to get the delay compensation, and getting the alternate flight re-imbursed would be good. When choosing the 'Compensation Only' option on Ryanair's EU261 Claim Form website, it will not let me proceed (perhaps it is because I did not board the flight). If anyone knows what are the best steps to take?

eskbanker

cbraz said:

Hi, help would be great as I don't know what steps I need to take.
Flight on 25/9 0625 BFS->STN RK128
Flight was delayed, departure board stated estimated departure 13:50 (Eventually left at 11:58) Flight arrival time was more than 5hrs after it was scheduled to arrive.
Upon discovering large delay (7hrs) I quickly booked and travelled on an alternative easyjet flight as suggested by Swissport staff.

I'm bewildered by the lack of clear steps to follow for compensation. I'm hoping to get the delay compensation, and getting the alternate flight re-imbursed would be good. When choosing the 'Compensation Only' option on Ryanair's EU261 Claim Form website, it will not let me proceed (perhaps it is because I did not board the flight). If anyone knows what are the best steps to take?

I don't believe you'll be entitled to compensation if you chose not to travel on the delayed flight, and am not sure that you'd even be able to claim the incremental cost of the other one if you booked it yourself without referring to the airline.  Did Ryanair message you about the delay and advise you of options, such as a refund perhaps?

cbraz

eskbanker said:

cbraz said:

Hi, help would be great as I don't know what steps I need to take.
Flight on 25/9 0625 BFS->STN RK128
Flight was delayed, departure board stated estimated departure 13:50 (Eventually left at 11:58) Flight arrival time was more than 5hrs after it was scheduled to arrive.
Upon discovering large delay (7hrs) I quickly booked and travelled on an alternative easyjet flight as suggested by Swissport staff.

I'm bewildered by the lack of clear steps to follow for compensation. I'm hoping to get the delay compensation, and getting the alternate flight re-imbursed would be good. When choosing the 'Compensation Only' option on Ryanair's EU261 Claim Form website, it will not let me proceed (perhaps it is because I did not board the flight). If anyone knows what are the best steps to take?

I don't believe you'll be entitled to compensation if you chose not to travel on the delayed flight, and am not sure that you'd even be able to claim the incremental cost of the other one if you booked it yourself without referring to the airline.  Did Ryanair message you about the delay and advise you of options, such as a refund perhaps?

The comms from Ryanair via their app were generic and did not mention any procedure other than £3 voucher for food/drink. There were no Ryanair staff at the airport. The Swissport staff that seemed to be dealing with enquiries said that there were no other flights from Ryanair and that you could book the flight which I booked, but would have to do this yourself. Talking with Swissport, they believed that compensation should be available due to the flight being over 5 hrs delayed and that it was a technical fault with the aircraft. However it seems unclear what can be claimed and how, as I read differing opinions?

eskbanker

cbraz said:

eskbanker said:

cbraz said:

Hi, help would be great as I don't know what steps I need to take.
Flight on 25/9 0625 BFS->STN RK128
Flight was delayed, departure board stated estimated departure 13:50 (Eventually left at 11:58) Flight arrival time was more than 5hrs after it was scheduled to arrive.
Upon discovering large delay (7hrs) I quickly booked and travelled on an alternative easyjet flight as suggested by Swissport staff.

I'm bewildered by the lack of clear steps to follow for compensation. I'm hoping to get the delay compensation, and getting the alternate flight re-imbursed would be good. When choosing the 'Compensation Only' option on Ryanair's EU261 Claim Form website, it will not let me proceed (perhaps it is because I did not board the flight). If anyone knows what are the best steps to take?

I don't believe you'll be entitled to compensation if you chose not to travel on the delayed flight, and am not sure that you'd even be able to claim the incremental cost of the other one if you booked it yourself without referring to the airline.  Did Ryanair message you about the delay and advise you of options, such as a refund perhaps?

The comms from Ryanair via their app were generic and did not mention any procedure other than £3 voucher for food/drink. There were no Ryanair staff at the airport. The Swissport staff that seemed to be dealing with enquiries said that there were no other flights from Ryanair and that you could book the flight which I booked, but would have to do this yourself. Talking with Swissport, they believed that compensation should be available due to the flight being over 5 hrs delayed and that it was a technical fault with the aircraft. However it seems unclear what can be claimed and how, as I read differing opinions?

If you'd travelled on the flight then, unless the cause was extraordinary circumstances, you'd have been entitled to fixed tariff compensation for the delay, but I'm pretty sure you're ineligible for delay compensation if choosing not to travel on the flight.

Article 6 of the regulations states that if a delay of at least two hours on a short-haul flight is reasonably expected, then the airline is required to offer you a refund, so if they didn't do so then you should at least have a case to claim that - if the flight had been cancelled then Ryanair would be obliged to offer a choice between the refund or reimbursement of the incremental cost of the alternative one, even if you arranged it yourself, but in this case there was no cancellation so I don't believe that kicks in.

However, happy to be proved wrong if someone has a credible or authoritative alternative explanation of the situation, especially if supported by relevant case law or the like....