Passengers who missed flights or vacations last summer because of a series of strikes against Ryanair are entitled to compensation from the airline under UK law, Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority has ruled.
The airline has refused to pay compensation to passengers all over Europe, claiming that the strikes were an “exceptional circumstance” for which the airline can’t be held responsible. Courts in Germany, Spain and Italy have sided with the airline, although cases are continuing, including a consumer-favorable ruling in another case by the European Court of Justice that a wildcat strike did not count as an extraordinary circumstance.
Partly as a result of the summer strikes, Ryanair has now signed contracts with some of its pilots and staff and is negotiating more, a break with its long-standing insistence on not recognizing unions.
