Ryanair facing regulator fines over flight cancellation debacle

Ryanair is facing potential fines from the Civil Aviation Authority, as the budget airline cancelled more flights due to the pilot working hours disagreement. The aviation regulator told Sky News it was “furious” with Ryanair’s seeming disregard for consumers and the law.

After cancelling some 2,000 flights in October, the budget airline just this week suspended flights for 34 routes during the winter season, through to the end of March. Routes from the UK that are affected include:

• London Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• Newcastle to Faro.
• Glasgow to Las Palmas.

The cancellations will affect 715,000 passengers.

Ryanair will meet with the CAA to discuss the situation which has involved cancelation of 21,000 flights, in total. The Dublin-based airline must abide by the CAA rules and could face fines if the regulator is unhappy with the company’s conduct over the cancellation and pilot problems.

However, the CAA told Sky News that it was unable to strip the low-cost airline of any of its routes as it’s an Irish-based company.

Ryanair has pledged to follow all the rules and ensure consumers are fairly treated in the aftermath of the thousands of flight cancellations. The no-frills airline said it will “comply fully” with the CAA regulations.

However, the regulator has begun action against the carrier, for “persistently misleading passengers with inaccurate information regarding their rights in respect of its recent cancellations.”

The CAA said in a statement it had made it “crystal clear” to Ryanair exactly what it should do in relation to informing passengers and assisting them going forward.

“The information Ryanair published today [Wednesday] again fails to makes this clear. In expediting our enforcement action we are seeking to ensure that Ryanair’s customers will receive the correct and necessary information, to make an informed choice about an alternative flight,” the CAA’s chief executive Andrew Haines said in a statement.

Ryanair shares sank further Thursday on the news.