We booked Ryanair flights to Malta in March which, of course, had to be cancelled. At the end of March Ryanair promised us that our request for a full refund would be processed within 20 working days, with the money paid up to 10 days later.
Today we received an email which seems to only offer replacement vouchers. In the small print, Ryanair states that it will only consider refunds after the Covid-19 emergency is over. Can I hold Ryanair to its original promise?
KC, Enniskillen
Readers have been contacting us in their droves this week asking exactly the same question. Having previously said it would offer refunds – and unlike the other airlines put in place a website to make it happen – Ryanair has now changed its mind.
Instead of the refund, passengers have been sent a link telling them how to use its vouchers to purchase alternative flights over the next 12 months. They can still request a cash refund, it states, but will be placed “in the cash refund queue until the Covid-19 emergency has passed”.
Readers are understandably frustrated and, in many cases, very angry. The rules are clear: full refunds are due if the airline cancels the flight, to be processed within seven working days.
Clearly, the easiest option is to take the vouchers. But be aware that they are, inexplicably, only valid for 12 months.
If you would prefer, or need, the money, apply to be put into the queue and see how it develops. Sooner or later, regulators are going to have to get involved in this dispute.
In my view, the Civil Aviation Authority needs to give the airlines a month to start making refunds, and to warn those that don’t that they will have their licences to operate in and out of UK airports, withdrawn. However, the CAA does not have a great record in this area.
The other option consumers have is to file a chargeback/section 75 claim request with their card provider. The banks will often try to bat these away, so you will have to persist.
If the emails sent to us are anything to go by, consumer patience over this issue is starting to wear rather thin.
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