Share prices of airline dip 1.4 per cent in early trading
Just a day after Ryanair cancelled further 18,000 flights, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has cracked its whip on the troubled airline and launched an “enforcement action” against it, the first step towards court action.
In a statement today, the regulator stated the airline was “persistently misleading passengers” and must comply with the regulations or the next step would be legal proceedings: “In accordance with Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002, and during our consultation with the airlines, the CAA may seek legal undertakings from operators to ensure they change their policies and comply with the law.”
To this, Ryanair has said that it would do whatever it was asked by the UK regulator: “We already comply fully with all EU261 legislation, are meeting with the CAA and will comply fully with whatever requirements they ask us to.” The share price of the Irish airline was down 1.4 per cent in early trading.
Last evening, Ryanair had announced that it would be suspending 34 routes, including all flights from London to Scotland, all through November to March 2018 as it aims to bring an end to its flight cancellation troubles.
This sudden decision by the airline has affected around 400,000 bookings. And this was not the first time the airline had done this. Previously as well, the airline had angered many passengers by cancelling flights after being left short-staffed by a botched revamp of its internal vacation planning.
The regulator further said that on both occasions, Ryanair had failed to provide passengers with the “necessary and accurate” information about their rights. The information on the airline’s website does not make it clear if they are obliged to refund all expenses, including meals, hotels, as well as transfer costs to re-route passengers on other airlines incurred due to a flight cancellation, the regulator added.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has said it is “in correspondence with the CAA and have requested an early meeting to address their concerns”.
With this second wave of cancellations, the airline has stated that they have emailed all the passengers affected and offered them a choice of a refund or an alternative flight. The passengers will also receive a travel voucher for £40 one-way or £80 return, which can be used to book the Irish flight for travel between October and March 2018.
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