Ryanair Flies Into Passenger Ire On Cancelled Flights

Ryanair struck turbulence Monday as passengers, consumer groups and a UK government minister hit out at the Irish no-frills airline for moving suddenly to cancel thousands of European flights

LONDON, Sept 18, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2017 ) - Ryanair struck turbulence Monday as passengers, consumer groups and a UK government minister hit out at the Irish no-frills airline for moving suddenly to cancel thousands of European flights.

In a shock move, the company on Friday announced it was cancelling up to about 2,000 flights over six weeks to "improve punctuality". Ryanair said it would scrap 40 to 50 flights daily -- "less than two percent" of its flying programme -- to address problems caused by air traffic control delays, strikes and weather disruption.

But the Dublin-based carrier admitted that it has been hit also by pilots and cabin crew being forced to take outstanding holiday entitlement by the end of the year under a new system. While Ryanair admitted that it "messed up" the planning of staff holidays, reports said the airline had been impacted by recruitment issues after losing a number of pilots to rival carrier Norwegian Air.

In reality, all Ryanair passengers are affected owing to them being left unsure on whether their flights will be among those cancelled over the coming weeks.

So far, the airline has published on its website only those flights cancelled through to the end of Wednesday, causing customers to express their anger across social networks.

"What if your (sic) flying out on a flight not cancelled before Wednesday, how the hell do you know if you can get back. Publish full list now!" tweeted Carole Schofield. Rory Boland, travel editor at consumer rights group Which?, said it was "essential that Ryanair release a full list of flights that will be affected so that passengers have as much time as possible to make alternate arrangements".

Aviation minister Martin Callanan said he was "very concerned" by the airline's actions. "We expect all airlines to fulfil their obligations to their customers and do everything possible to notify them well in advance of any disruption to their journey," he added.

Ryanair is inviting passengers to either apply for a refund or change their flight without facing the usual charges. "We apologise sincerely to all affected customers for these cancellations," Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Jacobs said in a statement.