Ryanair tells passengers in flights chaos to pay again for baggage

RYANAIR passengers already affected by mass cancellations of flights are being forced to pay twice to choose seats and check in bags.

Passengers hit by cancellations were offered a choice of a “free” replacement flight or a refund. Those selecting replacement flights have discovered they are being charged again for extras they had already paid for on their cancelled flights.

Those who paid so they could choose their seats and check in bags on their original flight were not refunded those fees and were made to pay again when booking their new flight.

The budget airline charges passengers up to £15 to book seats and up to £30 to check in bags.

Ryanair then dealt the passengers another kick in the teeth, imposing a £16 “flight change fee”, usually applied to those who actively chose to alter the flight date.

Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said: “It’s outrageous that Ryanair

passengers who have had already to endure huge inconvenience are essentially being double charged for booking seating and luggage.

“The airline must quickly ensure affected passengers are re-booked, fully refunded and automatically compensated without having to jump through hoops.”

Many Ryanair passengers were stranded for days, some desperate to get back to young children and others racking up large and unexpected bills as they were forced to stay abroad longer. Some paid up to £1,500 for flights with other airlines. One said: “The website didn’t want to let me book on the flight unless I paid twice for the seats and bags.”

Another said: “Ryanair allow you to change flights for £0, but charge you again for seat allocation that you’ve already paid on the cancelled flight. I was quoted one amount for a new seat reservation then charged three times that.”

Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer for the airline, said: “We are aware of this issue and any customer who has been double charged for bags or allocated seating will be refunded.”

Yesterday members of the influential Transport Select Committee called for an investigation into the cancellations affecting more than 400,000 people, allegedly because of “staffing issues”.

Steve Double, Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: “We need to understand exactly what’s gone wrong and how to make sure it never happens again.” The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is also set to investigate amid suggestions it was not told of the cancellations.

The chaos began when the airline announced a two per cent reduction in scheduled flights until the end of October. Thousands more tourists faced changing flights last night after Ryanair released the full list of cancellations.

A private memo sent to Ryanair staff suggests more chaos could be on the way as the firm asked pilots and staff to work overtime in return for £12,000 to prevent further cancellations.

However, Ryanair pilots are reportedly threatening industrial action. More than 120 attended meetings in Dublin yesterday, where a strike ballot was discussed.

Passengers who had their flights cancelled can book an alternative flight with Ryanair or be refunded. Those given less than 14 days notice can claim compensation, meaning more than 250,000 people will not be compensated. It is thought Ryanair could have to pay £17 million in compensation.