Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the treatment by Ryanair in respect of refunds of passengers who have had their flights cancelled as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

Government have published advice for claiming a cancelled flight refund in the Passenger COVID-19 Charter which sets out rights, responsibilities and reasonable expectations when booking and travelling during the pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reviewed airlines’ compliance on refunds last summer and worked collaboratively to improve their performance on consumer obligations. The majority of airlines now pay refunds within 7 days. The CAA regulates the compliance of airlines with aviation consumer law.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating whether Ryanair has broken consumer law by failing to offer refunds to customers they could not legally take during lockdown in the UK. The government is not able to comment on this case as it is on-going.

Ryanair are also a member of Aviation ADR, an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body, who can assist consumers to resolve disputes with the airline, including for cancelled flights.