Ryanair Aviation ADR claim advice please

SarahLu

Hello, I had a flight cancellation experience with Ryanair recently and am hoping for some advice.

I was due to fly from Aqaba in Jordan to Sofia in Bulgaria and they cancelled the flight 4 days before the day of travel. It was not just this one flight that was cancelled, but they have pulled their entire route out of Aqaba - no flights are running anymore. I don't know for sure, but I suspect this was due to financial reasons, since there are fewer tourists in the area at the moment so they can not fill the aircraft. I contacted Ryanair via live chat while in Jordan and asked what the options were to be rerouted (I was due to take a connecting flight from Sofia to the UK with another airline, which obviously I now could not make). I was told that due to them not running any more flights, they were unable to reroute me (even though on the email it said they would use alternative airlines if necessary) and my only option was to get a refund and basically I was on my own with regards to making other arrangements to get home. I asked for a copy of the chat transcript which they said was not possible, but I did take screenshots. Since I was now stuck in Jordan, I had no option but to take the refund and make my own alternative arrangements. This entailed a taxi to another airport, a new flight from there to Budapest and changing my connecting flight from Sofia to leave from Budapest, total cost for 2 of us was over £700. 

Having returned home, I submitted a compensation claim form on the Ryanair website and their response is that the cancellation was "cancelled due to unrest in Israel, outside the control of Ryanair." I have asked them to explain why the situation in Israel is relevant to my claim, since I was not in Israel and the country I was in is perfectly safe, flights with other airlines are running normally and there are no government travel warnings for tourists. Other than tourism being lower than usual, there is nothing unusual taking place in Jordan and no reason to cancel flights there, other than the financial impact on Ryanair, but surely that does not effect my right to compensation? Anyway, I have asked twice now and just receive the same copy and posted response.

So I am going to proceed with a claim via Aviation ADR but was wondering if anyone could advise on the following first so that I can maximise my chance of success:

1. In my last email to Ryanair, I asked them to specifically state that this was the final decision so that I could take it up with Aviation ADR, but they have not done this, they simply reiterated the "reason" for cancellation again. Do I need to press them to explicitly state that we have reached the end of the line and I should contact the Aviation ADR? My original decision email from Ryanair stated "If you are unhappy with our decision, you can take your complaint to your local Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body, details of which can be found in our help centre page on our website.", so would that be enough?

2. I have also submitted an insurance claim for the expenses I incurred. They asked if I had sought compensation and I said no, because I hadn't at that time and wasn't aware that I could until I looked into it later. Should I wait for that outcome first before I proceed with this claim? The way I see it, they are two different claims. The insurance is to get reimbursed for my expenses whereas the compensation is for the inconvenience and stress caused by the cancellation and Ryanair's refusal to assist in rerouting me.

I have never done any kind of claim like this before, I have had a read of the information on here but if there is anything else I should know or anyone has any other tips or advice it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

eskbanker

As you say, there are two separate aspects to consider: compensation and reimbursement of expenses.

Ryanair is obliged to pay compensation unless "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", and it's not too much of a stretch that it's less safe than usual to operate to an airport about a mile from a part of Israel where rocket attacks have been reported, so I suspect that a compensation claim is unlikely to succeed.  Note that this relates to the airline's obligations to pay fixed tariff compensation under the UK/EU 261 regulations, rather than anything "for the inconvenience and stress caused by the cancellation and Ryanair's refusal to assist in rerouting me" as such.

However, regardless of the cause, Ryanair were obliged to offer you a choice between refunding or rerouting, so if they failed in their obligations on the latter then it's legitimate for you to make your own arrangements and claim back the cost.  If you (understandably) took the refund then you'd only be entitled to claim the difference between that refund and the cost of an alternative flight to Sofia, plus reasonable costs of getting to an alternative airport if there was nothing available at Aqaba.

Chances are that even if Ryanair play ball, you're still going to be left with a significant bill to take up with your insurer, but yes, you need to go through the airline/ADR process first.  If Ryanair rejected your claim at the second attempt without addressing issues raised then it would seem reasonable to regard that as their final response....

SarahLu

Thank you for the reply. I have already submitted my insurance claim...should I have waited and tried this route first? I wasn't aware of this until after I had submitted the claim so there's not much I can do about that now. Should I wait for the outcome from my insurer before I do anything else do you think? 

eskbanker

SarahLu said:

Thank you for the reply. I have already submitted my insurance claim...should I have waited and tried this route first? I wasn't aware of this until after I had submitted the claim so there's not much I can do about that now. Should I wait for the outcome from my insurer before I do anything else do you think? 

Probably worth highlighting to the insurer that you are pursuing the matter with the airline first, as policies will normally only pay out costs that can't be recovered from other parties, so as to avoid double dipping.  They should be able and willing to put your claim on hold while you go through the process with Aviation ADR, although that'll take quite a while....

Westin

EasyJet also have cancelled all flights to Aqaba.  Similarly to the reason RyanAir have given you - unrest in Israel and restrictions on air space.

SarahLu

Westin said:

EasyJet also have cancelled all flights to Aqaba.  Similarly to the reason RyanAir have given you - unrest in Israel and restrictions on air space.

I still suspect it is more of a cost issue, but there's no way I can prove that of course. 

Hoenir

SarahLu said:

Westin said:

EasyJet also have cancelled all flights to Aqaba.  Similarly to the reason RyanAir have given you - unrest in Israel and restrictions on air space.

I still suspect it is more of a cost issue, but there's no way I can prove that of course. 

Having visited in Aqaba (and Jordan extensively)  in the past. The allowed Westernised culture is a draw in Aqaba. The Home Office advice for Jordan therefore seems particularly poignant. Employers have a duty of care towards their employees. 

Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Jordan. There have been a number of incidents since 2016, some serious. Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreigners, particularly hotels, shopping malls and tourist sites. 

SarahLu

Hoenir said:

Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Jordan. There have been a number of incidents since 2016, some serious. Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreigners, particularly hotels, shopping malls and tourist sites. 

That may be the case, but it always has been, so it isn't why this flight was cancelled. I personally believe it was a cost cutting exercise since many people are currently wary of travelling to the area at the moment. 

eskbanker

SarahLu said:

Hoenir said:

Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Jordan. There have been a number of incidents since 2016, some serious. Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreigners, particularly hotels, shopping malls and tourist sites. 

That may be the case, but it always has been, so it isn't why this flight was cancelled. I personally believe it was a cost cutting exercise since many people are currently wary of travelling to the area at the moment. 

But presumably many people are currently wary of travelling to the area at the moment because of the rocket attacks in the vicinity, so it's probably not going to be difficult for Ryanair to justify pulling the plug on the same grounds, rather than it being a purely commercial decision as such?

SarahLu

I don't see any reason for them to cancel (other than financial!) when the airspace is open as usual and many other flights are running with no problems, as were Ryanair flights until just a few days prior to them pulling the route. They were running the flight for a good few weeks into the conflict with no worries about safety. I can't prove anything and yes, as you say, they will probably find a way to avoid paying out. Currently they are not even interested in reimbursing my costs, which as you said earlier, they should be doing regardless of the reason for cancellation, so I don't hold out much hope. But we shall see.

Hoenir

SarahLu said:

Hoenir said:

Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Jordan. There have been a number of incidents since 2016, some serious. Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreigners, particularly hotels, shopping malls and tourist sites. 

That may be the case, but it always has been, so it isn't why this flight was cancelled. I personally believe it was a cost cutting exercise since many people are currently wary of travelling to the area at the moment. 

The world is a complex place where may deep rooted historic antagonisms live on. Some are more at risk than others.