Ryanair faces legal action after failing to compensate passengers

Ryanair faces legal action over its 'appalling' treatments of hundreds of thousands of passengers who faced flight disruption caused by striking staff.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Ryanair had refused to compensate customers for flight disruption caused by staff taking strike action.

Ryanair claimed the industrial action falls under 'extraordinary circumstances', but the CAA disagreed and said compensation should be granted under EU law.

Passengers are eligible to claim compensation payouts of €250 (£222) when short-haul flights are cancelled without being given at least two weeks' notice.

This is in addition to a replacement flight, or a refund.

The news comes as a shot in the arm to some 100,000 beleaguered customers who were left stranded at airports over the summer as their flights were delayed or cancelled.

"Ryanair passengers have made claims for compensation directly to the airline, but these have been rejected.

"Passengers have then been able to escalate their complaints to AviationADR, a body approved by the Civil Aviation Authority, to provide alternative dispute resolution for passenger complaints.

Ryanair's flights were hit by widespread strikes over the summer by the carrier's pilot and cabin crews, while it also suffered amid the industry-wide air traffic control industrial action that saw thousands of flights cancelled across Europe.

Some 100,000 passengers were hit by the strikes.

Staff in Spain, Portugal, and Belgium went on a 48-hour walkout amid calls for increased pay, fairer working conditions, larger pensions, and better job security.

A flight that farmer Daniel Brown and his family had booked from Stansted to Bologna in Italy was cancelled on July 25 because of strikes.

The 36-year-old said Ryanair is guilty of 'appalling' treatment over its refusal to pay compensation or give refunds.

The airline is hoping to fight the decision after a court in Barcelona noted no compensation is due to customers whose flights are cancelled due to an internal strike in October.

Similarly, in the past, Lufthansa was not obliged to pay allowances when pilots were on strike for 15 days, and no action was taken against British Airways during its staff strikes last year.