Disgruntled passengers get day in court

RYANAIR COMPENSATION:THE FIRST OF more than 100 court cases taken by Ryanair passengers after their flights were cancelled or delayed will be decided next month.

The airline is set to have to pay compensation to at least three customers after it opted not to defend actions taken on the passengers’ behalf by a Dublin legal firm, Lavelle Coleman. The hearing at Dublin District Court in September is to determine the level of compensation. Ryanair is defending a fourth Lavelle Coleman case, which the court will hear in October.

Lavelle Coleman is acting on behalf of EUclaim, a Dutch company that fights compensation claims on behalf of disgruntled airline passengers. EUclaim charges about a quarter of the award if its case is successful.

More than 200 Ryanair passengers, or 120 separate groups of travellers, have asked EUclaim to seek compensation on their behalf. Passengers are entitled to up to €600 each when their flights are cancelled or subject to long delays, and they can also claim food, accommodation and other expenses.

Airlines do not have to compensate passengers where problems are caused by “extraordinary circumstances”, such as bad weather, strikes or security threats. Carriers also tend to claim exemption for technical problems and difficulties with air-traffic control.

Lavelle Coleman, which is handling EUclaim’s business in the UK and Ireland, recently settled claims with British Airways for a group of 23 people in relation to a flight from Heathrow to Lisbon in March last year. Michael Rattenbury of Lavelle Coleman said the outcome showed airlines were finally starting to take travellers’ rights seriously. “It is unfortunate that the passengers had to go to court to defend their rights. However, we are heartened that BA settled the claims before the passengers had to endure the ordeal of a trial. We now hope that other airlines will follow suit.”