Insult to injury... now Ryanair’s compensation cheques bounce

FOR those unlucky holidaymakers whose Ryanair flights were cancelled, it was the final straw.

The budget airline was forced to apologise yesterday after scores of compensation cheques sent to passengers bounced.

Ryanair stressed that only ‘a very small number of cheques’ processed in July had been issued without a signature due to an ‘administrative error’. But the damage had already been done as furious passengers vented their frustration.

Some complained the gaffe had left them worse off after they were penalised by their bank.

Since April, more than one million Ryanair passengers in Europe have had flights delayed or cancelled flights, according to the airline’s own figures. Reasons include a pilots’ walkout as well as bad weather and air traffic control staff shortages.

Karen Joyce, from Manchester, said she spent 11 months waiting for compensation from Ryanair after her 25th wedding anniversary holiday flight was cancelled in September.

Ryanair paid part of her claim but when she went to cash a second cheque it was returned by the bank – along with a 20 euro (£17.94) fee. She described the failure as ‘disgusting’.

One passenger wrote on Facebook on July 28: ‘Ryanair sent me a cheque for compensation then BOUNCED the cheque…SHAME ON YOU RYANAIR.’

Ryanair said the cheques had been reissued to customers with a letter of explanation on August 15. It said less than 190 out of over 20,000 compensation cheques were affected.