Ryanair accused of changing reason for flight delay to avoid compensation

We’ve all been there, patiently waiting in the airport for a boarding gate, only to see the dreaded words displayed on the big screen overhead: Delayed.

Usually, the inconvenience isn’t too bad, and you end up at your destination an hour or two late.

The only consolation is that if the plane lands three hours or later than scheduled, at least you might be eligible for some money back.

In 2024, 145 million passengers took off from UK airports — with one in three experiencing a flight delay or cancellation.

Around 3.4 million of these were Brits, who ended up being entitled to up to £520 each in compensation, thanks to the UK’s passenger rights protections.

But what happens if you were initially told your flight was delayed due to ‘technical difficulties’ with the aircraft, only to land and the airline claim it was actually ‘adverse weather conditions’?

This is the very pickle one Reddit user found herself in recently.

While getting ready to board a Ryanair flight from Barcelona to London Stansted, she shared she’d received a notification that her flight was delayed by two hours following ‘”technical difficulties” with an aircraft’.

The plane eventually landed in London three hours and 20 minutes late, meaning all passengers were entitled to claim.

When she went to do so however, she found that Ryanair’s website stated she was now ineligible because the flight ‘was delayed due to adverse weather conditions suffered by the operating aircraft on previous sectors, outside of the control of Ryanair’.

The woman was confused, given the Irish carrier had previously claimed the delay had nothing to do with the weather.

But because the Reddit user forgot to take a screenshot of the original message citing technical difficulties, she’s unsure how to prove it.

What do the experts say?

Allana Wilckens, legal expert on passenger rights at Flightright UK, tells Metro that if airlines can prove the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances — such as genuinely adverse weather — and that it couldn’t have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, they don’t have to pay out.

Still, she says that the passenger appears to have a properly arguable claim for €250 (£217) compensation because the flight arrived more than three hours late.

Similarly, Tim Riley, Managing Director of True Traveller and Chairman of the UK Travel Industry Association, tells Metro: ‘If passengers believe their flight delay was caused by a technical issue over adverse weather, they can challenge the airline’s decision through the appropriate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process.’

From a travel insurance perspective though, Tim warns that a delay of just over three hours is unlikely to trigger a payout under most UK policies — even if it is the law.

Rather, he says, delay benefits only typically apply after much longer disruptions, often 12 hours or more.

Allana adds that the early claim of technical difficulties is an important factor here, because ordinary technical problems are generally not regarded as extraordinary circumstances.

Equally, there may have been more than one cause for the delay. For example, weather may have delayed the aircraft on an earlier sector, while a later technical or operational issue caused further delay.

‘If that is the case, Ryanair should explain how much of the delay was caused by each issue rather than attributing the whole delay to weather,’ she explains.

As for the initial screenshot? Allana says that just because the passenger forgot to take a photo, it doesn’t mean the claim should fail.

In fact, she argues Ryanair should retain records of the notifications sent through its app, as well as the operational and technical records relating to the flight, adding: ‘It’s for the airline to prove that the extraordinary circumstances defence applies.’

As such, the travel expert concludes that if Ryanair cannot properly evidence its defence, compensation should be paid.

What has Ryanair had to say?

Metro put the claims to Ryanair, which reiterates that the flight from Barcelona to London Stansted on June 10 was ‘delayed due to adverse weather conditions at London Stansted Airport.’

According to the budget airline, this prevented the inbound aircraft scheduled to operate this flight from departing Barcelona on time.

However, it also adds that the same flight was subsequently delayed ‘ahead of take-off due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft.’

A spokesperson said: ‘Passengers booked on this flight received communications via email, push notifications and received updates via the Ryanair app, and were issued with refreshment vouchers during the delay.’ 

To minimise disruption, Ryanair states that it arranged for a replacement aircraft to operate the flight to London Stansted, which departed at 10.45pm local time.

Ultimately though, it states the passenger is ‘not entitled to compensation’ because the ‘delay was weather-related, which is outside of Ryanair’s control.’

MORE: ‘Abandoned’ £864,000,000 airport in Spain set to reopen after 14 years

MORE: I packed a tennis ball in my carry-on — it changed how I fly

MORE: Plane crashes onto highway in Texas killing one and injuring five