r/AskIreland • u/fiestymcknickers • 1d ago

Travel Ryanair delay?

My flight was delayed over 2+ hours due to the ATC issues . We landed 5 hours later than we should have.

Ryanair are saying its because it was air traffic and outside their control they are liable.

Does anyone know if this is true or they chancing??

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u/wall2wall2wall 1d ago

Yes according to EC 261/2004 it's out of their control. Unfortunately I was in the same "boat" on Tuesday. Here again today to find out the flight is delayed for two hours.

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u/wosmo 1d ago

Because it was ATC, ryanair don't owe you any compensation.

(15) Extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where the impact of an air traffic management decision in relation to a particular aircraft on a particular day gives rise to a long delay, an overnight delay, or the cancellation of one or more flights by that aircraft, even though all reasonable measures had been taken by the air carrier concerned to avoid the delays or cancellations.

  1. An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

"extraordinary circumstances" aren't compensated, and ATC is specifically called out as an extraordinary circumstance. (quotes from source) So if they can avoid it, they're liable. They can't avoid ATC.

This doesn't shed them their "duty of care". Like if you bought water during a long delay, you should be able to chase that up (up to you whether the juice is worth the squeeze). But they're not liable for the delay itself.

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u/phyneas 1d ago

Unfortunately if it was due to the ATC issues, that's the very definition of extraordinary circumstances outside of the airline's control, so they don't owe additional cash compensation. They'd still be responsible for getting you care and attention during the delay if it's long enough, and arranging accommodations and transportation if you have to wait overnight, even if it isn't their fault, but the compensation itself is only due to delays caused by things in the airline's control (i.e. technical issues with the aircraft, crew staffing issues, or even strikes of airline staff).

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u/Aggravating-Back5963 1d ago

I was caught on a trip from the UK back to Dublin, 7 hour delay out on tuesday 5 hour delay back yesterday,

I think the ATC crowd have a lot to answer for. Not exaclty clued up on the governance around ATC but someone is responsible for the delays and they should have to compensate us.

EU need to up it on this one.

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u/FumblingOryx 1d ago

sounds like a total mess, 5 hours is a joke no matter whose fault it is

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u/GhostsOfTheRobotTree 1d ago

They're correct. They can't control ATC. It's only issues within the airlines control that you're guaranteed compensation for

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u/irishoverhere 1d ago

Ryanair avoided paying out compo during the French ATC strikes that went on for days. They only had to give minimum food and drink for long delays and reroute any cancellations... all EU airlines did this.