From April 4 low cost airline Ryanair will charge an extra €2 for all bookings to cover the cost of complying with the EU261 European passenger compensation regulation. EU261 established common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation and long delay of flights.
Ryanair says the regulation has cost it £87 million in the past year. The majority caused by the need to cancel flights due to ash clouds, snow and strikes – all out of the airline’s control. The carrier has called on the EU261 regulations to be reformed and it would reduce or eliminate the levy.
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Spokesman Stephen McNamara said: "The EU261 regulations are clearly discriminatory in the way they are applied to airlines, by making airlines responsible for delays, cancellations and right of care expenses during force majeure (unforeseeable) events such as volcanic eruptions, the snow closure of airports and the frequent ATC strikes across Europe.
"It is clearly unfair that airlines are obliged to provide meals and accommodation for passengers (for days and weeks in some cases), simply because governments close their airspace, or air traffic controllers walk off the job, or incompetent airports fail to clear their runways of snow.”
"While we regret the imposition of this levy, the extraordinary costs which have been imposed on us by delays and cancellations under these discriminatory regulations must be recovered from passengers," he said.