The UK Civil Aviation Authority has begun enforcement action against Ryanair to make it pay compensation to passengers for flight delays caused by strikes by its staff.
Despite warnings from the CAA, Ryanair has refused claims from passengers, arguing that the strikes were ‘extraordinary circumstances’.
Affected passengers have been forced to escalate their complaints to AviationADR, a CAA-approved body that helps settle disputes.
But Ryanair has now informed the CAA hat it has terminated its agreement with AviationADR.
The CAA is insisting that strikes by Ryanair staff do not count as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and are therefore not exempt from Regulation EC261/2004.
Passengers with an existing claim will now have to await the outcome of the CAA’s enforcement action.
The CAA said today that passengers with new claims who are not satisfied with the outcome, or who have not received a reply from the airline within eight weeks, should contact the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT).
A Ryanair spokesman said in response to the CAA’s announcement this morning: "Courts in Germany, Spain and Italy have already ruled that strikes are an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and EU261 compensation does not apply. We expect the UK CAA and Courts will follow this precedent."
Ryanair had earlier argued that no enforcement action was taken against British Airways when its customers were affected by staff strikes last year.
