ryanair cancellations > The Travel Expert

Last year massive travel companies like Thomas Cook and WOW Air ceased trading, thousands of flights were cancelled over strikes, and currently the Coronavirus is causing havoc for travellers in 2020. If you don’t already have Travel Disruption Cover – get it now!

Insurance is one of those purchases that unfortunately you only really value when something goes wrong. I always book my travel insurance with Multitrip.com and just renew it each year without asking any questions. However in light of recent events, I like many of you, found myself asking what exactly am I covered for?

Read: What to do if you have booked a holiday and are worried about Coronavirus

Most insurance policies will not cover you for ‘acts of God’ like hurricanes or volcano eruptions, or for airline strikes or closures. Remember the Icelandic ash cloud? 100,000 flights were cancelled and many people were left stranded for weeks.

Multitrip.com however, have a Travel Disruption Cover which can be added to all policies from as little as €10 (single trip policy) and €17 (annual policy) and will provide you with additional cover in the event of adverse weather conditions, airline cancellations and even strikes.

Book here

Like all insurance policies however, you can’t purchase Travel Disruption Cover after something goes wrong… Once you have added it to your policy it will be effective seven days later. So don’t wait until you hear that a case of Coronavirus has been reported in the country you are going too – add it to your policy now.

Note: new bookings will not be covered against Covid-19 if there is a travel advisory in place advising ‘all but non essential travel’ to a particular country.

Travel Disruption Cover offers extended cover under delayed departure, missed departure and accommodation sections, should your flight be cancelled or delayed as a result of strike or adverse weather conditions.

- If your flight is cancelled or delayed for more than 12 hours it covers additional accommodation and travel costs up to €1,000.
- If your flight is cancelled or delayed for more than 12 hours then you can claim back up to €1,000 for irrecoverable unused travel and accommodation costs should you cancel.
- Claim back up to €1,000 for accommodation if you have to be moved from your current location or cut your trip short because of flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption etc
- Covers cancellation or curtailment charges should the Foreign & Commonwealth Office or World Health Organisation advise against travel to the country or specific area you are travelling to.
- Gives you control of the situation and the added security that you have sufficient cover should an airline cancel, delay or redirect your flight after take-off.

Book Travel Insurance Here

Note some of the links in this post contain affiliate links, where I receive a small commission if a booking is made, but at no additional cost to you.

Another week, more headline grabbing news from Ryanair. Ryanair are cancelling 40 – 50 flights every day for the next six weeks. If you have a flight cancelled with Ryanair, you may be entitled to compensation.

Although Ryanair say that this is less than 2% of their schedule, this doesn’t offer much consolation for those affected. To make matters worse the only explanation given by Ryanair is

“We have messed up in the planning of pilot holidays and we’re working hard to fix that”.

Ryanair have only offered cancellation notices until Wednesday 20th of September so those who are travelling later in September or October still have no idea of whether their flight will operate. For a full list of flights that Ryanair have already cancelled click here

The Commission for Aviation Regulation have issued the following statement:

If you have been affected by the Ryanair programme of flight cancellations you are entitled to a choice of refund or rerouting. Compensation may also be payable depending on the notice period Ryanair has given you.

Cancellation with prior notice.

Under the terms of the Regulation your entitlement and compensation varies depending on when you were informed of the cancellation.

The airline must provide at least two weeks notice to avoid paying compensation and they must then offer either:

an alternative flight at the earliest opportunity or at a later date of your choice subject to the availability of seats; or
a full refund of the ticket.

If you have been given between two weeks and seven days notice the airline must offer a choice between:

an alternative flight departing no more than two hours before your original departure time and allowing arrival at your final destination within fours hours of the original scheduled time of arrival; or
a full refund of the ticket.

Less than seven days notice requires the airline to offer the choice between:

an alternative flight departing no more than one hour before your original departure time and allowing arrival within two hours of the original scheduled time of arrival; or
a full refund of the ticket.

Airlines are entitled to offer a passenger comparable transport to the final destination if no alternative flight with the carrier is available.

Cancellation upon arrival at the airport.

In the event of a cancellation without prior notification the Regulation provides the following:

The air carrier shall provide a written notice setting out the rules for assistance in line with Article 14(2) of the Regulation. In addition, a sign must be displayed at the check-in area with the following text:

“If you are denied boarding or if your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, ask a the check-in counter or boarding gate for the text stating your rights, particularly with regard to compensation and assistance”

Passengers must also be offered care and assistance free of charge while waiting for their rerouted flight– specifically, meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, hotel accommodation in cases where an overnight stay becomes necessary, transport between the airport and place of accommodation and two telephone calls, emails, faxes or telexes.
An alternative flight at the earliest opportunity or by comparable transport to the final destination.
A full refund of the ticket for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose to the passenger’s original travel plan or when relevant a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity.
When a city, town or region is served by several airports, a carrier may offer a flight to an alternative airport to that originally booked. The carrier is then obliged to bear the cost of transferring the passenger to the airport to that which the booking was made or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.

Compensation.

Compensation in the event of a cancellation depends on the distance of the flight and the reason for the cancellation.

If an airline can prove that the cancellation was caused by an extraordinary circumstance which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures were taken no compensation is payable.

As previously stated, the distance of a flight determines the amount of compensation due.

If the flight distance is:

1500km or less the amount payable is €250
1500km – 3500km and all EU flights over 3500km the amount payable is €400
3500km or more the amount payable is €600.

If an airline can offer rerouting to the final destination that does not exceed:

two hours for flights of less than 1500km;
three hours for flights between 1500km and 3500km; and
four hours for flights over 3500km

the compensation will be reduced by 50%.

It is very important to note that compensation is distinct from and separate to the notion of reimbursement of expenses and/ or the refund of the cost of an unused flight ticket.

Claims Process

If you choose to make a claim for expenses or compensation from Ryanair, you must contact the airline directly. This is covered in Article 15 of their terms and conditions found on their website. Ryanair aims to deal with your application within 4 to 6 weeks.

It is important to remember that Ryanair is not required to pay compensation if the cancellation was outside of their control (extraordinary circumstances). Once Ryanair has finished dealing with your claim and if you do not agree with their decision, you can refer the matter to:

The Commission for Aviation Regulation.

3rd Floor Alexandra House

Earlsfort Terrace

DUBLIN 2

Telephone number +353-(0) 1-6611700

apr@aviationreg.ie

www.aviationreg.ie

Irish passengers who remain unclear about their entitlements as set out in EC Regulation 261/ 2004, or who have further queries in relation to same, should contact this office at info@aviationreg.ie or on 1890 787 787 or + 353 1 6611700.

Source:

https://www.aviationreg.ie/news/ryanair-flight-cancellations.803.html

https://www.aviationreg.ie/air-passenger-rights/cancellation.209.html

Sarah

The Travel Expert

ryanair cancellations

Why You Need To Add Travel Disruption Cover To Your Travel Insurance Policy