Ryanair flight delay over 8 hours - compensation?

GeorgiaRoo

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could please offer some advice.

On Saturday 2nd December, my flight from London Stansted to Rome Ciampino was delayed by over 8 hours. We were sat on the plane for the whole delay.

Initially, the Ryanair pilot said they needed to de-ice the plane before we could fly. This took a few hours to take place. Then the Ryanair pilot said they needed new crew and were trying to find some in the airport. We then waited for the plane to be de-iced again.

The pilot then told us we wouldn't be taking off and to disembark the plane, but 10 minutes later, a new pilot told us to sit down and we would be flying (this didn't happen for over 2 hours). We also didn't have access to water since they ran out, and they ran out of some snacks too.

Because of the delay, we ended up having to pay a lot more for transport to our hotel (since it was after midnight at this point). I requested an expense claim for this on Ryanair's website, which they approved.

I have also tried to request a compensation delay claim since we landed more than 3 hours after the arrival time (under the EU261/2004 regulations), however Ryanair are rejecting this, saying that the weather was the reason for the delay, therefore we cannot receive compensation. 

I have pointed out that the cabin crew and pilot changed (which contributed to the delay of the flight since these staff members were not readily available), and that the de-icer was used more than once. Ryanair have not responded to me since I have mentioned this.

I was wondering if these reasons mean we are entitled to compensation or not?

xhxxhx

Was flying out from Stansted the same day but to Vigo (Spain). 6:30 hour delay, tried to claim and they declined citing weather. Not my fault if they didn't have enough de-icing trucks? AFAIK, I've seen only one working which would make sense to take 4:30 hours to get to our plane. 

eskbanker

GeorgiaRoo said:

I have pointed out that the cabin crew and pilot changed (which contributed to the delay of the flight since these staff members were not readily available), and that the de-icer was used more than once. Ryanair have not responded to me since I have mentioned this.

I was wondering if these reasons mean we are entitled to compensation or not?

I think your case fundamentally stands or falls according to whether or not snow and ice should legitimately be categorised as extraordinary circumstances, and also whether all reasonable measures were taken, in terms of deicing capacity (and whether this is the airline's responsibility, as I've seen it mentioned on another thread that Ryanair has its own rather than relying on airport provision).

I suspect that Ryanair would see a replacement crew as supporting their position rather than negating it, i.e. once they realised that the original crew would exceed their safe rostered hours because of the delay, they arranged others to step in, which would generally be seen as a reasonable mitigating measure rather than an exacerbating factor.

Likewise, there will be strict guidelines about how frequently deicing needs to be carried out, so in itself doing this multiple times doesn't signify airline fault.

See what Ryanair comes back with, and, assuming they don't capitulate, you can escalate to Aviation ADR for an independent adjudication....

Clownnewb

Hey! That sounds like a travel nightmare. 😩 The EU261/2004 regulations consider technical issues or crew problems as within the airline's control, making you eligible for compensation. Keep pushing with those points in your communication with Ryanair. Don't back down, and good luck! 🤞✈️

quantum173

Had a similar problem.
The excuse of weather was the answer.
over 22 hours stuck in terminal after booking in.!!
No seats available and no airline staff to help.
Wrote to MD at Luton.finally offered a small discount on another holiday,
Tui was the company.
Dont fly with them anymore.

GeorgiaRoo

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for the help!

I have spoken with Ryanair, and they keep saying no to compensation (because they are claiming the weather was the reason for the delay). When I asked about the crew change and whether that counts as an extra-ordinary circumstance, they just ignored me and said they were unable to answer that question.

I'm not sure whether to keep messaging Ryanair as it seems their opinion won't change, or whether to try the Aviation ADR instead.

Also, as a side note, really sorry to hear lots of you have had similar situations! It's really not an ideal circumstance to be in.

tripled

If snow, ice, wind, fog, lightening, or other weather phenomena cause the airport to reduce or suspend operations, are outside the published safe limits for the aircraft, or in the judgement of the captain would make the flight unsafe, and this caused the delay, this would undoubtably be outside an airline's control.

Deicing is something that happens fairly routinely in cold conditions, which typically happen in the winter and are usually forecast. That being said, just because it is cold, doesn't necessarily mean an aircraft needs deicing, and the frequency of deicing will vary depending on the location (you wouldn't expect to de-ice often in Lanzarote compared to Gdansk for example).

Personally I would argue it and take it to an adjudicator. It typically takes less than half an hour to deice an aeroplane, so it is questionable that can justify an 8 hour delay, even if deicing is in itself considered exceptional.