- Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters has slammed budget airline
- Peeters accused Ryanair of only communicating with Belgians in English
- The minister also said the airline failure to notify customers of their rights
- Ryanair plagued by pilot shortage that has led it to axe thousands of flights
Belgium’s government has launched legal action against Ryanair for being ‘unprofessional’ after it left passengers stranded by cancelling thousands of flights.
Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters has announced he plans to sue the budget airline and has accused it of a number of failings.
The minister, who handles consumer affairs, criticised Ryanair for only communicating with Belgium’s French and Dutch-speaking customers in English and a failure to notify them of their rights.
Belgium’s government has launched legal action against Ryanair for being ‘unprofessional’ after it left passengers stranded by cancelling thousands of flights
Based on a series of infractions, ‘I have lodged a cease and desist action against Ryanair, which if accepted will bring fines against the firm if the practices continue,’ Peeters said.
The Dublin-based airline has been plagued by a pilot shortage that has led it to axe thousands of flights in Europe – and has now extended the wave of cancellations into early 2018.
The firm had already scrapped 2,100 flights in the six weeks to the end of October as it struggled with landing planes on time.
Ryanair last week defended its handling of the problems saying it had emailed all passengers hit by the latest cancellations, offering them alternative flights or a full refund.
They have also received a 40 euro travel voucher, it said.