Dilemma in the sky: EU warns Ryanair to respect the rules

More than 300,000 Ryanair passengers have had their travel plans thrown into disarray as a result of a rolling programme of flight cancellations that will hit 2 per cent of all of the airline’s flights between now and the end of October. 

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary blamed a “messed-up” rostering system and a need to give pilots “lots of holidays over the next four months”. He said the roster issues arose due to a change in the way the airline records flight hours. Under EU rules, pilots can only fly 900 hours a year, and 100 hours in any month.

And on Monday the European Commission urged Ryanair to comply with EU passenger rights, including possible compensation.

Under Brussels regulations, passengers can claim up to £529 (€600) if their flights are cancelled with less than two weeks' notice.

A European Commission spokesman told a press conference in Brussels: "Airlines operating in the EU need to respect the European rules. 

"Passengers whose flights are cancelled have a comprehensive set of rights. We have to check if all this is respected by Ryanair.  "For instance, you are entitled to reimbursement if you are not warned two weeks in advance."

After 1 November, when the lighter winter schedule begins, there will not be any need for cancellations, O’Leary said.
He added they were also asking to buy back leave from pilots and alter the holiday schedule.

"We try to explain why we've made the mess and we will pay compensation to those passengers who are entitled to compensation, which will be those flights that are cancelled over the next two weeks" he explained.
If passengers are given more than 14 days' notice of a cancellation, they are not entitled to compensation.