Flight giant Ryanair has lessons for Lithuanian passengers: They tried to turn us into criminals

Ryanair, which has repeatedly lost cases brought by passengers in Lithuanian courts, is considered the most popular airline and this time it ruled: the Vilnius Regional Court announced that the airline will have to pay 3.5 thousand. 5% compensation. annual interest for the amount awarded from the day the case was brought before the court until the full execution of the sentence and almost 1,2 thousand Costs in euros.

Although the money awarded to the most popular transport company in the world is not large, it is still painful: more and more passengers decide to defend their violated rights.

The Irish airline has been sued by a Vilnius-based company that helps passengers recover their compensation for flight delays, delays or cancellations. The lawsuit filed in court sought to protect the rights of eleven passengers: five passengers requested compensation for the delayed Vilnius-Malta flight, and the others for the Vilnius-Oslo and Bremen-Vilnius flights.

According to the case, the flight to Malta was found to be more than three hours late, at a distance of more than 1.5 thousand. km, they were entitled to compensation of EUR 400 each. At that time, flights to Oslo and from Bremen to Vilnius did not reach 1,5 thousand. km, for which they had to be compensated with 250 euros.

According to the applicant company, the disputed flights were not delayed due to exceptional circumstances and Ryanair paid compensation to the other passengers on board.

“Complaints about payment of compensation were recorded on Ryanair’s website, but company representatives did not provide any response,” the lawsuit alleges that neither unanswered nor uncompensated passengers signed transfer agreements and authorized intermediaries to act on your behalf.

At the time, Ryanair not only refused to pay compensation, but also explained that disputes between the airline and passengers should only be resolved directly.

The airline explained that the airline acting on behalf of the passengers had no right to claim compensation, as Ryanair’s General Conditions and Conditions of Carriage, which are an integral part of contracts of carriage, prohibit the transfer of the right to claim. To thirds.

“Assignment agreements are unfair to consumers; passengers often do not understand that they have assigned a claim and will be paid 25% less compensation than they are entitled to,” attorneys representing the airline told the court.

The airline further emphasized that Irish law should apply in this case and that “the transfer of passenger rights under Irish jurisprudence is an administrative offense and a criminal offense.”

“The flight delays were a consequence of Ryanair’s work organization, but not of circumstances beyond the airline’s control and special circumstances that would eliminate the airline’s obligation to pay compensation,” the Lithuanian passenger company said, and noted that the Lithuanian courts The prohibition of assignment provided for in the General Conditions of Carriage has been declared unfair and invalid.

“Transfer agreements with passengers do not infringe on the rights of passengers as consumers and are not unfair to them,” the court said.

At that time, the court decided to uphold the claim of the company representing the passengers in its entirety and award them due compensation.

According to the judges, under the assignment agreements, the original creditors (passengers) transferred their existing claim rights to Ryanair, which they acquired under a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The court found the airline’s assertions about the prohibition to transfer passengers’ right to compensation unfounded because it “impairs consumer rights compared to those established in the Regulation, complicates and restricts application” and “does not guarantee a high level of protection of passengers “. and minimum protection of passengers “.rights”.

According to the court, the claims of the passengers do not derive from a contract with Ryanair, but from the Regulation: “Obligations towards passengers under this Regulation cannot be limited or exempted, in particular by means of an exception or restrictive clause in the contract of carriage.. “

“It should be noted that the passenger transport contracts with Ryanair are consumer contracts, as the air transport service was purchased by natural persons for their own use from Ryanair as the commercial operator providing that service,” the court noted. It does not change the classification of this contract as a consumer contract.

According to the judges, jurisprudence has repeatedly stated that Ryanair’s claims that restrict the ability of passengers to transfer their right to compensation, as well as the obligation of passengers to seek redress directly from the airline, undermine the rights of passengers. consumers compared to the Regulation. it also complicates and restricts the exercise of rights, so the conditions imposed by the airline cannot be grounds for resolving the issue of invalidity.

There was also a dispute over the Vilnius-Malta flight delay in the case: the passengers claimed that the flight was delayed more than three hours, while Ryanair stated that the flight was delayed less than 3 hours. – 2.57 am and presented the aircraft with a daily movement sheet.

However, this document was not sufficient for the court; It was not clear whether it indicated the moment the plane door was opened and not the moment the plane landed on the runway. According to the judges, the Court of Justice of the European Union has held that the term “arrival time”, which is used to describe the duration of a flight delay, refers to the opening of at least one aircraft door, provided that passengers are allowed to leave the plane from that moment on.

The court found that Ryanair had failed to demonstrate that all possible steps had been taken to operate the flight to Malta on time; for example, no other aircraft could be used to operate the flight, etc. The same circumstances were found when evaluating the delayed flights to Oslo and from Bremen to Vilnius.