This could be your lucky day.
A landmark judgement was made in court today that could see millions of Ryanair passengers due a payout.
Solicitors in the case say the airline could be liable for up to €848 million after losing a case in Manchester.
A rule under EU Law states that you can claim compensation for delayed flights for up to six years, and not the two years stated in Ryanair’s terms and conditions.
A case was brought by six disgruntled passengers who experienced a 10 hour delay while flying with the airline and they then tried to claim after five years and eight months.
Judge Platts, who oversaw the case, said that Ryanairs T&C’s were not in line with European Flight Delay law.
The solicitor for the passengers Kevin Clarke said “We’re delighted that the court has dismissed yet another argument put forward by the airlines to restrict passenger rights.” He also said the case could affect millions of air passengers.
After the case, Ryanair issued a statement saying they plan to appeal the decision.
“Ryanair estimates that, even if its appeal in this matter is ultimately unsuccessful, its potential liability will not be material and is likely to be less than €5 million.
“We note this ruling which reverses Lower Court orders that a two-year time limit for claims is reasonable.
“Since we believe a six-year time limit for submitting such claims is both unnecessary and unreasonable, we have instructed our lawyers to immediately appeal this ruling.”
Following on from writing this article we received a statement from Ryanair which requested we state the following points.
“This legal firm’s numbers are as fictitious as the claims it is making on behalf of a tiny number of passengers who didn’t even bother to make a valid claim within 2 years of their delay, and clearly won’t make any claim between 2 and 6 years later
“The reason why disreputable law firms inflate these potential figures is to try to stimulate more claims by misleading their clients that they will get compensation when clearly they won’t.
“This is why Ryanair will continue to fight these bogus claims and ensure that these legal firms incur huge costs and are ultimately unsuccessful.”
Hat-tip to The Irish Times
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