Ryanair ordered to pay passenger £420 after failing to compensate her over four-hour flight delay

Ryanair ordered to pay passenger £420 after failing to compensate her over a flight delayed by more than four hours, with a court describing the airline’s actions as ‘unacceptable’

  • The no-frills airline was sued over a July 2019 flight from Palma to Barcelona
  • The unnamed passenger turned up for the flight but did not board it
  • Not taking it should have had no bearing on compensation, a judge ruled

In a new court setback in Spain, Ryanair has been successfully sued by a passenger who was refused compensation after not travelling on a flight delayed by more than four hours.

The no-frills airline was ordered to pay €500 (£420) to the unnamed passenger after its decision to refuse a payment was branded ‘unacceptable’ by a court in the Majorcan capital, Palma. 

The passenger who went to court turned up for the July 2019 flight, from Palma to Barcelona, but did not end up taking it and was reportedly told that because she didn’t board, she would get no compensation when she put in a claim. 

Ryanair has suffered a new court setback in Spain after being sued for failing to compensate a passenger who did not travel on a flight delayed by more than four hours

Palma Mercantile Court Number One ruled she should have received compensation simply because her flight had been delayed by more than three hours. 

The judge who made the ruling said her decision about whether to take the flight should have had no bearing on whether she was compensated, reported island news website mallorcadiario.com. 

In a written sentence the court described as ‘completely unacceptable’ Ryanair’s stance that passengers who had already suffered the consequences of a lengthy delay should be made to take a flight to maintain their right to compensation.

There was no immediate public response from Ryanair about the ruling.

Last month it emerged Ryanair had been ordered to reimburse a passenger for charging her a fee to take hand luggage on board a flight.

Ryanair was sued over a July 2019 flight from Palma to Barcelona, which is said to have been delayed by more than four hours. Above, a shot of Palma Airport

Ryanair was sued over a July 2019 flight from Palma to Barcelona, which is said to have been delayed by more than four hours. Above, a shot of Palma Airport 

The no-frills airline was ordered by a mercantile court in Elche, near Alicante, to pay the traveller £40 (50 euros) plus interest after she claimed she was asked to pay to take carry-on bags on a service from Liverpool to Alicante.  

Her flight was taken before new Ryanair hand luggage rules were brought into force on November 1 last year. 

The airline initially contested the plaintiff’s action before accepting the claim and paying the money she was demanding.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk