Ryanair Compensation

[SMG123]

We were on holiday in Spain and was expecting to fly from Reus airport to Birmingham at 22:45 (please bare in mind we had been awake since 7am that morning 🥱) We arrived at the airport & there was a delay with checking our bags in then we was told the flight had been delayed until 23:25 which was fine. We checked all our bags in etc then headed through security and then was told our flight had not even left Birmingham airport so delayed the flight again. Also we was the only flight leaving Reus that night! We were then offered €4 each to spend in the shop - when we was just about to spend the €4 we were told that we were being diverted to Barcelona airport as Reus airport isn't a 24 hour airport and was closing 🤨!!! We didn't get to use our €4 & wasn't offered again. So then the airport arranged taxis for everyone on the plane to get to Barcelona airport! The taxi service was very quick & all taxis queued together & it was like a convey!! And it took 1 hour to get there. Anyway we ended up taking off at 3:30am! So by the time we had got home we had all been awake for 24 hours 🤪 - we are not entirely sure what the delay was at this stage but my guess would be the massive Q's at Birmingham airport as when we landed they were ridiculously long!! Do any of you know the compensation process are we entitled? How long does it take etc?

I claimed a couple of years ago from Ryanair using eu261 - the flight has to have landed more than 3 hrs late and be Ryanair’s fault - ours was a broken down aircraft.

the form is on their website and once completed the money (about €1600 as was for 4 people) was in my bank 8 days later.

if not their fault then probably claim against your own travel insurance ?

If the delay was due to the (well publicised) delays at Birmingham airport (eg the outcoming flight was delayed because too many of the passengers were stuck in the security queues) then no compensation will be due as this was outside Ryanair's control. Likewise bad weather, strikes by people not employed by RA.

However, if it was due to a shortage of RA staff or a problem with the plane, they should have contingencies for this and compensation is due.

Moneysaving Expert has good advice on how to claim, including a resolution process if RA don't pay up straight away. As for how long it will take, could be ages, RA aren't known for paying up without a fight and they'll probably be difficult in the hope you'll give up.

@Bjorkdidit @Star81 thanks for replying. Do you know if I can find out the reason why it was delayed?

If it was on the same day as all of the other Birmingham delays then your delay will be put down to that anyway. And to be honest, that is probably the legitimate explanation.

In any case you are going to have a very hard time proving that although 20 other planes were late because of the security issues, your specific delay was due to a pilot not showing up or the plane's engine needing to be changed.

For reference, the rules under EU261 are:

• If the flight is delayed by two hours the airline must offer you refreshments (there's your €4, good luck getting much for that at an airport).
• If your plane is cancelled they have to put you up overnight in reasonable accommodation (think 2-3 not 4-5) and reimburse reasonable expenses for breakfast and dinner (but not lunch, curiously)
• They have to get you home as quickly as reasonably possible
• The above points apply regardless of whose fault the delay is. The airline has a duty of care.
• If the flight is more than 3 hours late landing, but only if the delay is not due to circumstances outside the airline's control, you are also entitled to cash compensation of between €250 and €600. From Spain to the UK will usually be either €250 or €400, depending on how far south in Spain and north in the UK the airports are.

EU261 applies if you are flying either out of an EU airport (which was the case here as you were flying from Spain) or on an EU-based airline. If you are flying from the UK on a UK-based airline then the so-called "UK261" rules apply, which are basically the same as EU261 for the moment (copied and pasted after Brexit) but the airlines are of course trying to get the compensation reduced. Note that both Ryanair and EasyJet (and possibly others) have some of their planes owned in an EU company (Ireland or Malta or Austria for Ryanair, Austria for EasyJet) and some owned by a UK company, for all kinds of legal and tax reasons.

@SMG123

Flightradar might be worth a look, it’s not always accurate but can give a clue as to timings for the aircraft’s previous sectors but not reasons.

If I’ve got it right looking back at what your aircraft did yesterday (registration EI-EFZ) it looks like problems started at the beginning of the day with it coming out of Faro on it’s very first sector almost three hours late, and then it never got close to being back on schedule (it went Faro-Birmingham-Perpignan-Birmingham then headed for your pick up Spain…).

I suspect Ryanair might try to put it down to Birmingham security and/or the Reus curfew.

@notimagain that's interesting!! I'll look into that!! Thanks!!