By Andrew Young-
Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary has been accused of breaking the law for refusing to put sidelined passengers on rival flights. Raynair has been threatened with legal action for “persistently misleading” passengers about their rights following thousands of flight cancellations.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s chief executive Andrew Haines said he was “furious” that the airline was not complying with the law.
The CAA said information provided on Ryanair’s website failed to make it clear that the airline was obliged to refund all expenses incurred as a result of the flight cancellation. Those expenses included meals, hotels, as well as transfer costs to re-route passengers on other airlines when there was no suitable alternative, the CAA said. The failure exposes the irresponsibility of the airline and lack of integrity expected from an organisation as big as Raynair.A responsible airline would have appropritely informed all passengers via the websites of their rights, but Raynair appears to have deliberately withheld that information.
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The airline eventually said that passengers affected by the move will be offered alternative flights or full refunds and had been emailed about advising them of flight changes occurring until the end of October.
They will also be offered vouchers of 40 euros (£35) one way, or 80 euros return, towards alternative flights on top of any refund.
The authority says it has now launched “enforcement action” against Ryanair for wrongly claiming it did not have to re-route passengers on rival airlines.Raynair has conceded error, and promised to co-operate/.
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In a brief statement, the airline said: “We already comply fully with all EU261 legislation, are meeting with the CAA and will comply fully with whatever requirements they ask us to.”
“These are simple things to fix and they’re choosing not to fix them,” he said. “People shouldn’t have to choose between low fares and legal rights.”
The row comes amid recent revelations that flight cancellations between November and March and affect the travel plans of a further 400,000 customers.
A total of 34 routes will be suspended this winter, including Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Gatwick to Belfast and Newcastle to Faro.
Earlier this month, the airline cancelled up to 50 flights a day through to the end of October, also affecting 400,000 passengers.
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