Updated at 5.30pm
Ryanair admitted today it had messed up after the Irish budget airline disrupted the plans of hundreds of thousands of travellers by cancelling flights to cope with pilot shortages and improve its punctuality record - with its spokesman saying it was expecting to pay €20 million in compensation claims.
Ryanair blamed a number of factors for the sudden cancellations including a backlog of staff leave, which must be taken by the end of the year. Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers also said air traffic control strikes and weather disruption were affecting its performance.
In the context of an operation where we operate more than 2,500 flights every day, it is reasonably small
Rival Norwegian Air said today that it had recruited more than 140 pilots from Ryanair this year, adding to the squeeze on staffing.
"It is clearly a mess but in the context of an operation where we operate more than 2,500 flights every day, it is reasonably small but that doesn't take away the inconvenience we've caused to people," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told Sky News.
He said the problems were not the result of pilots quitting but was "because we're giving pilots lots of holidays over the next four months." Every passenger who is entitled to compensation will receive it in full, he added.
Seeking to halt a decline in performance figures, Ryanair has taken the unusual step of announcing plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights per day until the end of October.
Ryanair said the cancellations were designed "to improve its system-wide punctuality which has fallen below 80% in the first two weeks of September."
While it currently calculates crew leave from April to March, the Irish Aviation Authority is forcing it to calculate it from January to December from the start of 2018, it added.
Ryanair sent e-mails to the first affected passengers last Friday, giving them the choice of a refund or an alternative flight. It had until today issued cancellation notices up until Wednesday - with no Malta flights so far affected.
Cancellations for more days have been posted today, with the airlines promising to have the full list up by tomorrow..
Barring exceptional circumstances, airlines must under EU rules provide at least two weeks' notice to avoid paying compensation of €250 per passenger for flights of 1,500 km or less or €400 for longer flights within the bloc
The move brought bad publicity for an airline which has worked hard over the past few years to improve a reputation for treating passengers badly.
News bulletins in Ireland ran interviews with disgruntled customers while newspapers asked readers to share their stories, including a wedding party who told the Irish Times they had been left stranded in France.
Analysts at Dublin-based Goodbody Stockbrokers estimated that the cancellations would cost the airline around €34.5 million -- comprising €23.5 million in compensation, €6.3 million in lost fees, and €4.7 million in subsistence such as meals, drinks and accommodation.
Goodbody said that would shave 2.3% off its full-year forecast of €1.48 billion in profit after tax.
Barring exceptional circumstances, airlines must under EU rules provide at least two weeks' notice to avoid paying compensation of €250 per passenger for flights of 1,500 km or less or €400 for longer flights within the bloc.