The Dublin-based budget airline was given until 4 p.m. GMT (12 p.m. ET) to issue the said statement or face legal action over misleading statements made so far.
The CAA said it had started an enforcement action against Ryanair for “persistently misleading passengers” about their rights to compensation.
“We apologize again sincerely for the disruption and inconvenience our rostering failure has caused some of our customers,” Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said.
So far, the CAA had yet to respond whether the statement was satisfactory.
The deadline was clearly stated in a letter from CAA Chief Executive Andrew Haines to Ryanair’s chief legal and regulatory officer. The letter also included several other conditions for settling the aviation authority’s concerns.
“This issue is urgent as passengers may already have been disadvantaged by taking a decision based on misleading information provided by Ryanair,” said Haines in the letter. “We therefore require you to meet the deadlines set out above.”
The regulator has threatened to take legal action after Ryanair scrapped 18,000 flights in a second round of cancelations following the airline’s admission that it “messed up” scheduling of pilot vacations.
Legal action loomed over Ryanair after it failed to inform customers it would re-route their travel on other carriers if no suitable flights were available on their airline and pay out-of-pocket expenses stemming from the cancellations.
Ryanair responded by saying it would meet with CAA officials and “comply fully with whatever requirements they ask us to.” Haines’ letter said that they were amenable to that and added that agency staff would be available for a conference call at 2 p.m. GMT (9 a.m. ET) Monday.
Meanwhile, an internal Ryanair memo was made public, which allegedly ordered call center staff to offer flights with other carriers — provided the price “does not exceed three times the value of the original Ryanair fare.”
The consumer group Which? blasts the airline’s policy.
“Ryanair appears to be plucking figures out of thin air as there is no legal basis for the arbitrary figure they’ve set,” Managing Director Alex Neill said. “The law says passengers must be rerouted and there’s no specified limit on cost. This yet again highlights the importance of the action which the Civil Aviation Authority has started.”
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