Six out of 10 respondents in a TravelMole poll think the claim culture has gone too far.
The poll was conducted last week among TravelMole readers following a judge’s decision to award €400 in compensation to a baby for a Ryanair flight delay.
The ruling was made despite the fact the six-month-old was sitting on her father’s knees and a ticket had not been purchased for her.
Ryanair had compensated Crystal’s parents and sister for the nine-hour delay to their flight from Lanzarote to Birmingham, but argued Crystal was not covered by EU261 flight delay compensation rules because she was travelling without a ticket and didn’t have her own seat.
The judge said that did not mean she was not a passenger and dismissed Ryanair’s argument that a six-month-old would not have been inconvenienced by the delay and that compensation would be a ‘windfall’.
Ryanair described the ruling as ‘compo culture gone mad’ and the majority of TravelMole readers appear to agree, according to the survey, which asked: ‘Ryanair ordered to pay baby €400 compensation – has the claim culture gone too far?’
Of those that took part, 60% said ‘yes’, while 40% said ‘no’.
Lawyers for Bott & Co, who represented the baby, claimed the decision could cost airlines £10 million a year in compensation claims.
Ryanair warned prices would have to rise to pay for such ‘idiotic infant compo claims’.
