CAA launches enforcement action against airline for ‘persistently misleading’ people about their rights as more flights scrapped

The Civil Aviation Authority has launched enforcement action against Ryanair for “persistently misleading passengers” about their rights, piling more woe on the airline as it announced a second wave of flight cancellations affecting 400,000 people.

In a letter to the Dublin-based carrier, the CAA said Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, was wrong to tell passengers last week that it did not have to arrange new flights for them, after an initial batch of cancellations was announced.

The airline regulator said Ryanair had further transgressed when it notified people of fresh disruption on Wednesday, by failing to tell passengers they could be rerouted with other airlines if there were no suitable alternative on one of its planes.

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It added that Ryanair should correct any misleading statements and invited the airline to discuss the matter, warning that legal action could follow if the carrier is found to be in breach of consumer protection laws.

The CAA chief executive, Andrew Haines, said: “There are clear laws in place, which are intended to assist passengers in the event of a cancellation ... We have made this crystal clear to Ryanair, who are well aware of their legal obligations.”

Ryanair said on Thursday: “We will be meeting with the CAA and will comply fully with whatever requirements they ask us to.”

The regulator issued the warning as the airline said it would scrap 18,000 flights on 34 routes between November and March, and said it has emailed affected customers to offer a refund or an alternative flight.



Passengers will also receive a travel voucher for a £40 one-way or £80 return journey that can be used to book a Ryanair flight for travel between October 2017 and March 2018. Affected routes include London Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Gatwick to Belfast, Newcastle to Faro, and Glasgow to Las Palmas.

News of the cancellations came a week after Ryanair announced plans to scrap up to 50 flights a day until 31 October, citing a “mess-up” in how it schedules time off for pilots, affecting 315,000 customers. At the time, Ryanair dismissed a Guardian report that the disruption may not be over, saying: “There will be no further cancellations as a result of this rostering failure.”

List of the 34 routes suspended by Ryainair List of the 34 routes suspended by Ryainair

Announcing the latest cancellations, O’Leary apologised to customers for a second time, but defended the changes. “We sincerely apologise to those customers who have been affected by last week’s flight cancellations, or these sensible schedule changes announced today,” he said.

“From today, there will be no more rostering-related flight cancellations this winter or in summer 2018. Slower growth this winter will create lots of spare aircraft and crews, which will allow us to manage the exceptional volumes of annual leave we committed to delivering in the nine months to December 2017.

“We will start a new 12-month leave period on 1 January 2018 in full compliance with EU regulations and the IAA’s [Irish Aviation Authority] requirements.”

The airline said cancelling thousands of flights over winter would eliminate all risk of further flight cancellations.

But former and current Ryanair pilots, among them several who warned last week of further cancellations, said anger about working conditions could lead to more problems.

“It all depends if we manage to unionise,” said one current Ryanair pilot. He added that he and colleagues may “work to rule”, meaning they would stop doing things they are not obliged to contractually that help the airline manage its tight schedule.

This includes turning up for work early to ensure punctuality and fielding telephone calls from the company during days off.

“That would cause significant delays and some cancellations,” he said. “Striking is only a last resort, as we don’t want to harm the passengers. We only want Ryanair to reason with us and give similar contracts compared with other airlines, easyJet for example, so ultimately it’s up to Ryanair, and I’m sure they will not listen until we take collective action.”

One former pilot, who is in touch with their ex-colleagues, said: “They cannot rule it [fresh cancellations] out.” Both spoke on condition of anonymity in case their job prospects were affected.

Ryanair estimated that the total cost of its cancellations would be less than €50m (£44m), but said this would not change its prediction of annual net profit of between €1.4bn and €1.45bn.



But the airline admitted that the cancellations would slow its rapid growth, with 6 million fewer passengers due to fly with the airline by 2019 than otherwise would have done. It will also reduce fares in an effort to prevent further damage to its reputation.

The blunder has also forced Ryanair to pull out of its plans to bid for Alitalia, Italy’s bankrupt flag carrier. The Irish airline said it wanted to “eliminate all management distractions”.

Hannah Maundrell, the editor-in-chief of money.co.uk, said the latest flight cancellations were frustrating for customers. “It’s so disappointing for Ryanair passengers whose flights have been cancelled; even with more notice this time, it’s still seriously frustrating,” she said.

Twitter users reported problems rebooking and speaking to customer service representatives on Ryanair’s website as they tried to rescue holiday plans and make alternative arrangements for business trips.

Chris Swart (@swartchris8) #Ryanair is a #failure drops my flight, website doesn't work for rebooking, nor chat, nor phone support. #EpicFail #CustomerExperience

marcus threadgold (@threadm) @Ryanair good luck rebooking. The online flight change service doesn't work - i can only change one leg

Ryanair dismissed suggestions that its scheduling problems have been exacerbated by an overall shortage of pilots, insisting it has recruited 186 since the problem began and has a long waiting list of applicants. But the airline declined to say how many of the pilots on its waiting list have the number of flying hours required to be a captain.

A former Ryanair pilot said: “There will be a large waiting list at what I call cadet level. The problem is that when experienced people leave, you can’t replace them with inexperienced people. You can’t replace a captain with one of those cadets.

“The flying Ryanair does can be more challenging than long-haul. It’s a different challenge. You’re operating at small airports with very little air traffic control and different procedures. You need experience.”

Ryanair also said reports from the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association that more than 700 of its pilots have quit in the past year were exaggerated, insisting only 260 have left.



Many of Ryanair’s 4,200 pilots fly for the airline on a temporary contract basis, rather than as full employees, a situation that has been a bone of contention for some. In letters that have been circulated among Ryanair pilots at dozens of bases across Europe, some have demanded that the airline ditch the contract model in favour of local employment contracts.

Pilots and cabin crew have been turning to trade unions for advice and in some cases applying for membership in an attempt to secure improved conditions.

But Ryanair said it would not meet unions and would only meet “directly” with its “people”.