Irish low-cost airline Ryanair forked out hundreds in compensation to several passengers after an intoxicated flight attendant caused their trip to be delayed.
Passengers on a flight leaving Eindhoven Airport, in southeast Netherlands, directed to Spain’s Alicante on November 20 arrived three-and-a-half-hours later than scheduled.
The disruption was provoked by a flight attendant who was found to be over the alcohol limit when showing up for a check at the Dutch airport ahead of the flight.
After being caught intoxicated, the unnamed cabin crew member was unable to work, and Ryanair had to find a last-minute replacement, costing time to the cabin crew and the passengers.
The intoxicated flight attendant was fined around £858 (€1,000), Aviation24.be reported.
After the delayed flight, the organisation EUclaim – which helps airline travellers experiencing issues with their flights – submitted a request for compensation on behalf of 26 of the passengers affected by the delay.
The demand was successful, and Ryanair has agreed to pay around £343 (€400) to the claimants for their lost time.
The consumer organisation has since received the money from the airline and paid the first half of the compensation last week, a spokesman said.
Contacted for comment by Express.co.uk, a Ryanair spokesperson said: “We do not comment on queries relating to individual employees.”
The compensation was likely regulated by the EU’s Air Passenger Rights Regulation 2004, which protects passengers against severe flight disruption.
The legislation acknowledges that long delays, cancellations, missed connections and re-bookings are cause for great inconvenience and passengers experiencing them should therefore be compensated.
Known also as the EU 261 regulation, it requires compensation ranging between £214 (€250) and £515 (€600) to passengers who experienced travel disruption including delays longer than three hours.
Those experiencing delays to their flights shorter than three hours aren’t entitled to any monetary compensation if the disruption was classified as non-extraordinary.
