'Few' bookings lead Ryanair to cancel flights

A return Ryanair flight from Luton was cancelled on Boxing Day because there were too few bookings on both legs of the journey, Ryanair's local representative, Philip Lingard, said.

Contacted by The Times, Mr Lingard described Tuesday as "an extremely quiet day".

The airline representative would not say how many passengers were booked on the two flights.

He said the airline sent an e-mail to passengers who had booked a flight and whose e-mail addresses it had to inform them of the cancellations.

Mr Lingard insisted that the airline rarely cancelled flights and its statistics show a 99.6 per cent flight completion rate. Moreover, he said, the airline recommends that people take out their own personal travel insurance for any inconvenience and consequential losses.

He said the airline's ground handler - Ground Global - were not aware of any passengers turning up at the airport.

Like any other airline operating within European Union countries, Ryanair is bound by EU regulations issued in 2004. These lay down that if a passenger is denied boarding or his flight is cancelled, the airline must offer him financial compensation and assistance as long as he checks in on time.

When it comes to cancelled flights, the regulations - EC 261/2004 - provide that the operating airline must give passengers a choice of either a refund of the ticket (with a free flight back to the initial point of departure where this is relevant) or alternative transport to the final destination. It must also offer meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation, including transfers, where necessary and communication facilities.

Unless sufficient advance notice is given, the airline must also extend compensation, up to €400 for flights within the EU.

Ryanair's website states that if a flight is cancelled and no suitable alternative flight is available, the airline will offer a refund "for all monies paid in respect of the unused flight sectors on your reservation" upon application.

It adds that Ryanair does not provide compensation for flights that are delayed or cancelled for reasons beyond its control. "You may therefore wish to ensure that you have suitable private insurance cover in force to cover such eventualities," it says.

Both Air Malta and BritishJet saw a number of last-minute bookings following the cancelled flight. In fact, sources close to Air Malta told The Times that about 10 passengers made last-minute bookings to travel to British airports on Tuesday. BritishJet's CEO, Robby Borg, said a number of people had booked flights with the low-cost airline.