Success Story - claiming compensation from Ryanair for an unjustified flight cancellation

Due to its location, topography and poor air circulation, Krakow-Balice Airport has been called "the foggiest airport in Poland", as well as one of the foggiest in Europe. Fog is not only frequent, but also long-lasting, which can lead to flight delays of up to 24 hours.

AirCashBack clients' story

Our clients had a reservation for a flight from Krakow to Naples on January 17th, 2020, which in the context of the airport in Kraków was quite widely commented on in the media, a fact  also eagerly recalled by the Irish carrier, in explaining the cancellation of the flight. The fact is, however, that the fog that day once again paralysed air traffic in Krakow, but in the morning, and not at 5 p.m., at which time our clients were supposed to depart. So we brought the case to court.

The course of the dispute with Ryanair

When the case was brought to court, the carrier again referred to articles from the Internet, also submitting meteorological reports and an employee's statement with a description of the intended route of the client's flight. Indeed, fog did contribute to flight disturbance, but it preceded the flight by several hours. The only rational reason for cancelling the flight could be, at best, sending the aircraft to other connections, in order to avoid delaying further flights in the schedule and the need to pay more compensation. This is the practice adopted by Ryanair.

Legal basis

It is worth mentioning here that the provisions of Article 5 section 3 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 allows air carriers to be released from liability for compensation to passengers in the event of proving extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

Carriers often forget about the latter part of the provision and consider that the occurrence of adverse weather conditions during the day is in itself a circumstance that exempts them from the necessity to pay passenger compensation.

Successful resolution of the case

In our judgement, this unfair practice of low-cost airlines consists in tightly organising their flight schedules and therefore burdening passengers with the consequences of delays in other flights. It is definitely not part of any rational measures to be taken by the carrier. Fortunately, the court was of the same opinion, and our clients received compensation of 250 euro, which they will be able to use for their next trip abroad.

If you have also had a cancelled or delayed flight, or a cancelled flight due to the carrier's fault, remember that you can claim compensation. All you have to do is complete the claim form or click the button below, and we'll do the rest!