Ryanair accounted for the majority of complaints made by passengers to the Irish aviation regulator in the first half of this year, according to new figures. Paul Cullen, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, reports.
The Commission for Aviation Regulation says it received a total of 193 complaints between January and June, an average of over one a day.
The commission deals with passengers who have previously complained to their airline but have failed to obtain satisfaction.
Ryanair accounted for 114 of all complaints, or almost 60 per cent, making it the most complained about airline, even allowing for its size.
Aviation regulator Cathal Guiomard said the airlines were "relatively slow" to give effect to passengers' rights to compensation when flights are cancelled, delayed or overbooked. There had been an improvement but there was "still some way to go," he told The Irish Times. "The airlines are deeply unhappy with this regulatory regime. They think it's overkill. But it's the law and we're enforcing it."
He said officials were examining the pattern of complaints to see if any airline was behaving unreasonably. Such behaviour could warrant court action by the commission in defence of passengers' rights.
However, the investigation of complaints was often complex and laborious, he pointed out, with so many parties and jurisdictions involved. With compensation amounts usually small, the EU had to ensure the regulatory regime was proportionate to the size of the problem.
Many cases hinge on whether "extraordinary circumstances" apply to justify the cancellation of a flight or its delay. Airlines often blame problems on bad weather or technical problems but commission officials use weather reports and flight logs to check these claims.
In one complaint, in which an airline blamed a cancellation on "bad weather", they discovered that the airplane had actually been sent elsewhere, and it had been there that it experienced the bad weather.
The commission was unable to deal with the majority of complaints because 120 related to problems which arose when air passengers were in the airport of another EU state. Under EU regulations, complaints have to be passed to the enforcement body in the state in which the problem arose.
Mr Guiomard admitted the commission didn't know what ultimately happened to these complaints. Of the 73 remaining cases, 51 related to flight cancellations, 12 arose where passengers were denied boarding, usually because of overbooking. Eight involved long delays and the remaining two related to a downgrading and a schedule change.
According to the commission, 29 of the 73 Irish cases have been resolved to the satisfaction of passengers and work is continuing on the remainder. Ryanair accounted for 25 of the Irish complaints and Aer Lingus for 23, with the balance of 25 complaints spread across 18 other airlines.
Mr Guiomard said he was awaiting figures from Irish airports on the traffic volumes of individual airlines, but it was clear at this stage that Ryanair attracted the most complaints relative to size.
Passengers are entitled to compensation of up to €600 for cancelled flights, and free hotel accommodation and expenses when flights are delayed overnight. Exceptions arise over problems outside the airline's control such as bad weather or strikes.
Passengers seeking compensation are advised to first take up the matter with the airline. However, Aer Lingus does not provide any information on the complaints it receives, while Ryanair said it receives less than one complaint per 1,000 passengers.