Ryanair strikes: What are passengers' rights and how can you make a claim?

The Civil Aviation Authority has urged passengers whose Ryanair flights are cancelled by strikes to claim compensation

Grounded? Ryanair Boeing 737 at Schoenefeld airport in Berlin, one of the worst-affected bases (Simon Calder)

Tens of thousands of Ryanair passengers have had to reorganise their travel plans for Friday as pilots in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden are staging coordinated 24-hour strikes.

More than 450 Ryanair flights have been cancelled - making it the worst day for strike action in Ryanair’s history. So what’s the background to this dispute, and what are the rights of passengers?

How many passengers are affected?

Across Europe I calculate 75,000 passengers have had their flights cancelled. Ryanair won’t say how many are to or from the UK, but I have identified multiple cancellations from a range of UK airports to Dublin, Berlin, Frankfurt and Charleroi - or Brussels South as Ryanair calls it.

The airline says it has notified passengers. So if you are booked on Ryanair on Friday and you haven’t been told it's cancelled, there’s no need to worry, unless thunderstorms or air-traffic control problems intervene.

What are passengers’ rights?

The airline says: “All affected customers will be reaccommodated (or refunded) on other Ryanair flights.”

Under European air passengers’ rights, there is a third option: Ryanair must buy tickets on other airlines if necessary to allow travellers to complete their journeys as swiftly as possible. If you are abroad and your return home is delayed, the airline must provide meals and, if necessary, accommodation until it can bring you back.

In addition, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has urged passengers whose Ryanair flights are cancelled by strikes to claim compensation of €250 (for journeys of up to 1,500km) or €400 (for longer journeys). But the airline insists the stoppages are beyond its control and says any such claims will be refused.

Will there be knock-on disruption caused by Friday's stoppage?

No, Ryanair typically cancels flights early in order to protect its later schedules. Planes, pilots and passengers are all expected to be in position for the start of operations on Saturday.

Why are Ryanair employees striking?

From Sweden to Spain, the demands from both cabin crew and pilots are broadly similar: better pay and conditions, and a call to overhaul some of Ryanair’s unconventional employment practices: such as the insistence that Continental staff are employed under Irish laws, and the curious personal-service contracts under which some pilots work.

The airline rejects these demands, saying “Our pilots in Germany enjoy excellent working conditions. They are paid up to €190,000 [£171,000] per annum. Ryanair pilots earn at least 30 per cent more than Eurowings and 20 per cent more than Norwegian pilots.”

Will the Ryanair strikes end in some kind of compromise?

According to the unions, the strikes will end when Ryanair softens its hard-line approach. Martin Locher, president of the German pilots’ union, summed up the employees’ position by saying: “Improvements are inconceivable without staff cost increases in the cockpit.” But, he adds: “Ryanair categorically ruled out any increase in staff costs in the negotiations.”

The airline, which is by far the biggest budget carrier in Europe, looks as though it is digging in for a long war of attrition, warning investors: “There may be periods of labour unrest as unions challenge the existing high productivity model which may have an adverse effect on customer sentiment and profitability.”

Should you avoid booking a Ryanair flight then?

No. Even on the worst day in Ryanair’s history for strikes, as today is turning out to be, the majority of passengers will fly as booked.