The UK’s aviation regulator, the CAA, have given Ryanair a deadline of 5.pm. today (Friday 29/09/2017) to comply with the law.

The CAA’s ultimatum requires Ryanair to contact passengers who have previously been lied to about their rights under EU law, and to offer them the assistance outlined in Regulation EC261/2004. This regulation requires airlines to compensate passengers in certain circumstances (such as short-notice cancellations), but also to offer them re-routing with other airlines if their flight has been cancelled. Furthermore, it obliges the airline to pay for certain expenses, such as food and accommodation, and the cost of transfers if replacement flights are offered via different airports.

Ryanair had previously lied to passengers about their rights in these circumstances, thereby directly breaking the law. They had also wrongly directed some people to claim compensation via Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is unsuitable for these circumstances.

The CAA requires Ryanair to meet with them before the deadline, and contact all affected customers, with proposals to make good the situation. If the airline does not comply by 5.pm. today, the CAA will continue legal action against the airline, who could face an unlimited fine in Court. The airline have thus far refused to meet with the CAA, so it looks likely that the legal action against the airline will continue.

The Amadeus Altea check-in system, used by 125 airlines worldwide, crashed this morning, leading to delays for thousands of passengers worldwide. Delays have been reported at airports including London Heathrow and Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle Paris, Washington DC, Baltimore, Melbourne, Changi in Singapore, Johannesburg and Zurich.

The company who built the Amadeus system have blamed a ‘network issue’ for the crash, and said that services are being ‘gradually restored’.

Airports have had to use manual check-in systems instead, leading to long queues at check-in desks around the world.

Heathrow flights are reported to be delayed by about half to one hour, with delays running into this afternoon.

A spokesman for the airport said: ‘A small number of airlines are currently experiencing intermittent issues with their check-in systems at airports around the world – including at Heathrow.’

‘Passengers will still be able to check-in for their flight, although the process may take slightly longer than usual.

‘We are working closely with our airlines to help resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’

A spokesman for Amadeus said: ‘Amadeus confirms that during the morning, we experienced a network issue that caused disruption to some of our systems.

‘As a result of the incident, customers experienced disruption to certain services.

‘Amadeus technical teams took immediate action to identify the cause of the issue and restore services as quickly as possible. That action is ongoing with services gradually being restored.

‘Amadeus regrets any inconvenience caused to customers.’

The CAA, the UK’s aviation regulator, is ‘furious’ with Ryanair because they have been systematically misleading customers about their rights when their flights have been cancelled. A spotlight has been thrown on this due to Ryanair’s recent cancellation of a further 18,000 flights, affecting 400,000 passengers.

The CAA, in this instance, are holding Ryanair to account for failing to inform customers that they have certain rights under Regulation EC261/2004, which puts the onus on the airline to provide them with meals and accommodation if their flights has been cancelled, and also requires the airline to provide passengers with transport via other airlines if they are unable to re-accommodate passengers on their own services in a reasonable amount of time. It also entitles passengers to compensation if they were informed of the cancellation with less than 14 days’ notice.

Ryanair have not been informing passengers of these rights, which they have a legal obligation to do when they cancel flights. They have even gone so far as to outright lie about these rights in some letters to customers, which is not news to us at Claim4Flights – we have seen this behaviour for several years.

Mr Haines, from the CAA, singled out Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary for particular criticism, telling BBC’s Radio 5live: “Michael himself said he wasn’t going to pay for passengers to fly on other airlines. That’s against the law.

“My concern with Ryanair, and the reason we are speaking so openly, is they say one thing and yet they don’t follow it through.”

The CAA will take views on the situation for the next 7 days, after which the airline could end up in court and face a huge fine. However, in practise the CAA will probably accept changes in Ryanair’s working practises as an alternative to court action. But if the airline do not step up and stop breaching the law, they will end up facing legal action from the regulator.

Ryanair have today announced plans to cancel another 400,000 flights, as a result of their pilot rostering shambles. Cancellations will continue into March 2018, causing misery to hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The airline is already under fire for cancelling thousands of flights, so this news is sure to increase pressure on the airline and may even negatively affect their share price.

People booked to travel on a Ryanair flight up until March 2018 should contact the airline to find out if their flight is affected.

• 29 Sep 2017

  Ryanair Must Comply with the Law by 5.pm Today, or Face Court and Potentially Unlimited Fine

  Category: News

  No Comments

  

  The UK’s aviation regulator, the CAA, have given Ryanair a deadline of 5.pm. today (Friday 29/09/2017) to comply with the law.

  The CAA’s ultimatum requires Ryanair to contact passengers who have previously been lied to about their rights under EU law, and to offer them the assistance outlined in Regulation EC261/2004. This regulation requires airlines to compensate passengers in certain circumstances (such as short-notice cancellations), but also to offer them re-routing with other airlines if their flight has been cancelled. Furthermore, it obliges the airline to pay for certain expenses, such as food and accommodation, and the cost of transfers if replacement flights are offered via different airports.

  Ryanair had previously lied to passengers about their rights in these circumstances, thereby directly breaking the law. They had also wrongly directed some people to claim compensation via Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is unsuitable for these circumstances.

  The CAA requires Ryanair to meet with them before the deadline, and contact all affected customers, with proposals to make good the situation. If the airline does not comply by 5.pm. today, the CAA will continue legal action against the airline, who could face an unlimited fine in Court. The airline have thus far refused to meet with the CAA, so it looks likely that the legal action against the airline will continue.

  Continue Reading
• 28 Sep 2017

  Worldwide Flight Delays as IT Check-in Systems Crash

  Category: News

  No Comments

  

  The Amadeus Altea check-in system, used by 125 airlines worldwide, crashed this morning, leading to delays for thousands of passengers worldwide. Delays have been reported at airports including London Heathrow and Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle Paris, Washington DC, Baltimore, Melbourne, Changi in Singapore, Johannesburg and Zurich.

  The company who built the Amadeus system have blamed a ‘network issue’ for the crash, and said that services are being ‘gradually restored’.

  Airports have had to use manual check-in systems instead, leading to long queues at check-in desks around the world.

  Heathrow flights are reported to be delayed by about half to one hour, with delays running into this afternoon.

  A spokesman for the airport said: ‘A small number of airlines are currently experiencing intermittent issues with their check-in systems at airports around the world – including at Heathrow.’

  ‘Passengers will still be able to check-in for their flight, although the process may take slightly longer than usual.

  ‘We are working closely with our airlines to help resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’

  A spokesman for Amadeus said: ‘Amadeus confirms that during the morning, we experienced a network issue that caused disruption to some of our systems.

  ‘As a result of the incident, customers experienced disruption to certain services.

  ‘Amadeus technical teams took immediate action to identify the cause of the issue and restore services as quickly as possible. That action is ongoing with services gradually being restored.

  ‘Amadeus regrets any inconvenience caused to customers.’

  Continue Reading
• 28 Sep 2017

  CAA Threatens Ryanair with Legal Action as Airline Repeatedly Breaks the Law

  Category: News

  No Comments

  

  The CAA, the UK’s aviation regulator, is ‘furious’ with Ryanair because they have been systematically misleading customers about their rights when their flights have been cancelled. A spotlight has been thrown on this due to Ryanair’s recent cancellation of a further 18,000 flights, affecting 400,000 passengers.

  The CAA, in this instance, are holding Ryanair to account for failing to inform customers that they have certain rights under Regulation EC261/2004, which puts the onus on the airline to provide them with meals and accommodation if their flights has been cancelled, and also requires the airline to provide passengers with transport via other airlines if they are unable to re-accommodate passengers on their own services in a reasonable amount of time. It also entitles passengers to compensation if they were informed of the cancellation with less than 14 days’ notice.

  Ryanair have not been informing passengers of these rights, which they have a legal obligation to do when they cancel flights. They have even gone so far as to outright lie about these rights in some letters to customers, which is not news to us at Claim4Flights – we have seen this behaviour for several years.

  Mr Haines, from the CAA, singled out Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary for particular criticism, telling BBC’s Radio 5live: “Michael himself said he wasn’t going to pay for passengers to fly on other airlines. That’s against the law.

  “My concern with Ryanair, and the reason we are speaking so openly, is they say one thing and yet they don’t follow it through.”

  The CAA will take views on the situation for the next 7 days, after which the airline could end up in court and face a huge fine. However, in practise the CAA will probably accept changes in Ryanair’s working practises as an alternative to court action. But if the airline do not step up and stop breaching the law, they will end up facing legal action from the regulator.

  Continue Reading
• 27 Sep 2017

  Ryanair Cancellations to Continue Until March – 400,000 More Flights Affected

  Category: News

  No Comments

  

  Ryanair have today announced plans to cancel another 400,000 flights, as a result of their pilot rostering shambles. Cancellations will continue into March 2018, causing misery to hundreds of thousands of passengers.

  The airline is already under fire for cancelling thousands of flights, so this news is sure to increase pressure on the airline and may even negatively affect their share price.

  People booked to travel on a Ryanair flight up until March 2018 should contact the airline to find out if their flight is affected.

  Continue Reading