Ryanair flight cancellations could cost carrier US$24 million in compensation alone

With the Irish low-cost carrier admitting it has “messed up” over the planning of pilot holidays, Ryanair stands to lose an estimated US$24 million in compensation payouts alone. Currently the airline is looking at canceling between 40 and 50 flights a week for the next six weeks while many pilots take their annual holiday.
The foul-up has occurred as a result of Ryanair changing its holiday year from April to March, to January to December, the consequence being that a large number of pilots and staff taking their annual holiday in September and October. The raft of cancelations is likely to affect some 400,000 passengers, with many already complaining that the lack of transparency over which flights will be affected in the weeks to come.
Currently Ryanair has been unable to confirm which flights are likely to be affected, other than a list covering flights up until Wednesday this week which has further damaged the airlines public reputation. Pressure is being put on the company to publish a list of all flights likely to be canceled.
Ryanair is also suffering from a pilot shortage, which has been exacerbated by an exodus of some 140 Ryanair pilots to rival airline, Norwegian Air, which is shortly due to open a base in Dublin for its subsidiary airline, Norwegian Air International. A spokesperson for Norwegian said: “We can confirm that 140 pilots have joined us from Ryanair this year. Pilot recruitment is also underway for more pilots for our new Dublin base opening later this year.” In a bid to attract qualified pilots, it is understood that Ryanair is offering a US$12,000 ‘signing on’ bonus.