Misery for Ryanair customers as insurers refuse to cover costs

Thousands of Ryanair customers affected by the airline's flight cancellation crisis have been dealt another blow after it was revealed insurers may not cover some costs.

The Irish airline has cancelled 2,000 flights, affecting some 315,000 passengers, after admitting it had "messed up" over its pilots' holiday roster.

While Ryanair has offered customers refunds or alternative flights and said it will provide up to £350 compensation under EU legislation, many will lose out on other holiday costs including hotel rooms, car hire and event tickets.

And a survey of travel insurers has now found that most standard policies will not cover "consequential losses" such as these as a result of flights being cancelled by an airline.

Fiona Macrae, of the Travel Insurance Explained campaign, said unless a policy specified cover for cancelled flights, claims were unlikely to be successful.

"The cheaper a policy, the more limitations there are likely to be on that policy and people don't always look at the cover provided when buying travel insurance," she said.

"We would urge anyone buying a travel insurance policy to look for one that provides cancellation cover for ‘any cause beyond your control and you are unable to claim back from any other source’.

"We are trying to get people not to think about price first of all, because spending just a few pounds more on insurance could save hundreds of pounds in an event like this."

Ryanair customers affected by the cancellations were notified by email on Monday, with a number stranded abroad or in airports waiting to go on holiday.

Elizabeth Leggat, 28, of Walton-on-Thames had to spend about £500 to get home from a holiday in Krakow after her return flight to London Stansted was cancelled.

She said she was offered a flight to a West Midlands airport three days after her planned return date, but had to get back sooner for work.

"I was given two days notice whilst already abroad and had no option but to book expensive flights to get home," she added.

"I know you get what you pay for, but arbitrarily abandoning people abroad is something else entirely."

The embattled airline said yesterday it has found alternative flights or processed refunds for about 75 per cent of passengers affected and expects to have dealt with 95 per cent of customers by tomorrow.

However pilots and first officers have written to boss Michael O'Leary threatening to bring in lawyers in an ongoing row over working conditions.

They have rejected a £12,000 they were offered to work through their holidays, citing grievances over pay and being overworked.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said Ryanair was the first port of call for affected customers looking to recover wasted holiday costs.