With the strike by Ryanair's Belgian pilots confirmed for 15 and 16 July, consumer rights organisation Test Achats is reminding passengers that the airline is obliged to offer an alternative flight free of charge.
As this was an internal strike at the airline (and not a strike by air traffic controllers or baggage handlers), the Irish low-cost carrier cannot invoke force majeure, Test Achats points out.
If an alternative is unsuitable, passengers have the right to demand a refund of their tickets.
Given that flights are likely to be cancelled less than two weeks before passengers' departure, they are entitled to additional compensation. This ranges from €250 to €600 – depending on the distance the flight covers – and can be claimed directly via the Ryanair website.
State Secretary for Budget and Consumer Protection Alexia Bertrand points out that passengers arriving at their final destination over three hours late are also entitled to compensation. If the flight's departure time is delayed by five hours or more, passengers are entitled to another flight or refund as well as compensation.
"We know that it is not always easy to find out how to claim additional compensation, and that it can take a long time to get it, but it is important to know your rights and to insist on receiving what you are owed", insists Test Achats spokesperson Julie Frère.
The consumer organisation is also making its 0800 29 510 helpline available to passengers (Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 18:00).
'Flouting the law'
The French-speaking Christian union CNE warns that major disruption is to be expected. The dispute revolves around pilots' salaries, which they are demanding to be restored after a 20% cut was made at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to help the company get through the crisis.
The unions and the Belgian Cockpit Association (BeCA) – the professional association of Belgian airline pilots – are also targeting the issue of respect for pilots' rest periods.
Since Ryanair recognised the application of Belgian labour law through a collective labour agreement in January 2019, tensions between its pilots based in Belgium and the company's management have continued to mount, according to BeCA, the CNE and the Flemish union ACV.
"In reality, there is nothing to negotiate, the law simply has to be respected," points out CNE Permanent Secretary Didier Lebbe. "I wonder why, in a constitutional state, we allow a multinational like Ryanair to flout the law. It isn't even a question of negotiating new benefits."
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The unions had asked the Irish low-cost airline to commit in writing, but it refused. According to the CNE, major disruptions are expected and a "large majority of Belgian Ryanair pilots" will take part in the action.
Thereafter, they reserve the right to continue their actions until the Covid CLA still in force expires, i.e. until October 2024, the organisations warn.
