'I made a mistake' – Ryanair's refund U-turn

Published on Thursday 22 April 2010 23:15

RYANAIR'S normally uncompromising chief executive yesterday bowed to political pressure by reversing the airline's decision not to fully reimburse travellers stranded by the volcanic ash disruption.

• Michael O'Leary: admitted he had "made a mistake". Picture: Getty

Michael O'Leary admitted he had "made a mistake" and said the no frills carrier would comply with European regulations that require delayed passengers to be refunded extra costs such as accommodation and food.

The U-turn came after Ryanair was condemned for stating it would only reimburse passengers up to the cost of their air tickets, unlike many airlines which are abiding by European Union regulations.

The decision could affect millions of passengers since Ryanair – Europe's largest airline – normally flies 220,000 a day.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis welcomed what he described as Ryanair's "revised statement".

He said: "The government and the Civil Aviation Authority have told Ryanair in the strongest terms they are expected to pay the reasonable accommodation and food costs of stranded passengers, and they should seek to get them back to Britain as soon as possible. This applies to all EU airlines, and I will be equally forthright in defending passenger rights with any airline that seeks to avoid its obligations."

A spokesman for Mr O'Leary said yesterday: "Michael realised he made a mistake. It was just a judgment call."

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr O'Leary had said: "While we will consider all passenger requests for reimbursement of reasonable receipted expenses over the past week, any such reimbursement will be limited to the original air fare paid by each passenger."

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker had said: "Michael O'Leary's outrageous decision not to compensate customers after the upheaval of the last week is a blatant defiance of EU consumer rules. This is shocking behaviour and rubs salt into the wounds for those who have been stranded overseas. This will make people think twice about travelling with Ryanair in the future."

However, a Ryanair spokesman yesterday announced: "Ryanair confirmed this morning that it will comply with EU261 regulations under which EU airlines are required to reimburse the reasonable receipted expenses (as set out in EU261) of disrupted passengers."

Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, said a Conservative government "would conduct a wholesale review of the rules governing compensation and travel insurance arrangements for air passengers".

However, the Mr O'Leary insisted the EU regulation was "absurd and discriminatory". He said: "While competitor ferry, coach and train operators are obliged to reimburse passengers' reasonable expenses, this reimbursement is limited to the ticket price paid.

"Yet the airlines are required by regulation to meet potentially unlimited expenses, in circumstances where there has been a catastrophic closure of European airspace over the past seven days, as EU governments and regulators wrongly applied a blanket ban on flights over European airspace."

Other airlines, including major British carriers such as British Airways, BMI, EasyJet and Flybe, said they were "fully complying" with the regulation.

A BMI spokesman said: "BMI tries to help as much as possible and will cover reasonable expenses of customers who are stranded away from home."

Several airlines said they had returned to full operations yesterday, enabling thousands more stranded travellers to return home. Among them, easyJet said it was likely to be able to fly back people stuck abroad more quickly than it first thought. The airline said there was more room on flights due to passengers with reservations making other arrangements.

Glasgow Airport said nine in ten flights operated yesterday, while four in five operated at Edinburgh Airport.

An Edinburgh Airport spokeswoman said: "We are delighted to have passengers back at the airport. We are moving towards normal services."

However, while some travellers endured marathon journeys to make their way back to Scotland, others went to extreme lengths to bring their families home. An Edinburgh man drove nearly 2,500 miles to collect his stranded wife and daughter, who were visiting a school classmate's family in Poland. Kenny Scott, 37, decided to make the epic trek – one third of his usual annual mileage – after his family's Ryanair flights home were cancelled.

The payment processing firm manager took a day and a half to reach Szczecin via the Channel Tunnel in his Renault Scenic people carrier. He then returned with Kathryn, 37, and Lauren, ten, along with her friend Olga and her mother and brother.

Mrs Scott, a pharmacist, told The Scotsman: "I was just stunned he would consider such a lengthy drive. He was immensely relieved to see us. Lauren thinks she has the most fabulous daddy on the planet."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said he was missing his three young sons, who are stuck in Spain after spending the Easter break with his wife's family. Speaking as he visited a parent and toddler centre in Bristol, he said: "It pulls at my heart strings to be here because I'm still waiting to be reunited with my own children."

Related stories:

Scottish tourism takes 2m hit from volcano fallout

Full steam ahead as stranded tourists sail back to Britain

RAF suspends flights as ash deposits found