weather and de icing problems for Ryanair at Dublin 03-03-19 Airport

Random question. Aircraft lands but you are stuck on the ramp somewhere for 1,2,3 hours plus. Could you not demand that the airline open a door and let you off?

Is it not a form of false imprisonment?

Could you ring the Garda and say you are being held against your will?

Maybe pull a slide and get off the aircraft?

CD,

1. You could but the captain can't do much if he doesn't have a stand to park and doesn't have a clearance from ATC to move anywhere.

2. Not really. You have a contract with the airline to get from A to B. You haven't safely arrived at B yet being on a taxiway.

3. You most certainly could try that and the crew would most likely be thankful. I can't see it speeding up the process though. If there isn't anywhere to park then the Gardai can't magic up a parking spot.

4. That would be very foolish, could even cost you or your fellow passengers their lives. The engines are more than likely running and it will take the crew a few seconds to realise what is going on before they can switch off the engine masters and cut the engines. The engines will still be spinning and represent a threat of you being sucked or your fellow passengers being sucked into them until they have spun down sufficiently. More than likely a bunch of other passengers on seeing the slide(s) deploy are going to hurtle down after you throwing their bags down the slide as well. People will get injured on the slides for sure based on real world data of these types of evacuations. If you survive then you could well be held culpable for at the least criminal damage to the aircraft but also face responsibility for any harm that has come to the other passengers by your actions. As its now turned into a full blown emergency the airport will close due to lack of rescue and firefighting cover and there will be financial costs for all of the diversions. The recent Canadian case where a passenger was held responsible for the cost of a turn back should serve as a warning that airlines are less and less likely to put up with any of this type of stuff any more. If you do manage to get away with all of the above then at the very least you will be banned for flying again on the airline.

Sometimes its down to a shortage of safe passenger steps to get you off the aircraft and buses to get you into the terminal from a remote stand. Maintenance steps are not suitable for disembarking passengers unless it was a real emergency. Most airlines at Dublin do not have buses and tend to use one supplier, who can get easily swamped if demand is too high. Also, most do not have their own in-house deicing kit so they have to use a dedicated supplier. It's all about shaving costs off. The DAA are also partly responsible, in my opinion, as they generate rules that often bear no relation to reality.

Kev11491 wrote: »

health and safety

Ah the 2 words that can be used for so many excuses. I hope whoever coined that phrase is a millionaire at least!

California Dreamer wrote: »

400 plus aircraft in the Ryanair fleet and they all have airstairs.

I am not arguing the point for the sake of it. I just think I would be doing my nut in sitting on an aircraft for 3 hours if this had happened to me.

And are there stands and ground staff available?

Sometimes you just have to accept that things are out of your control.

I had to sit on an LH aircraft at Munich two years ago for two hours because of a violent thunderstorm which meant it wasn’t safe for staff to be on the apron. It was frustrating but what could I do?

LXFlyer wrote: »

And are there stands and ground staff available?

Sometimes you just have to accept that things are out of your control.

I had to sit on an LH aircraft at Munich two years ago for two hours because of a violent thunderstorm which meant it wasn’t safe for staff to be on the apron. It was frustrating but what could I do?

I'd rather be stuck on a Lufthansa aircraft for two hours than a Ryanair aircraft for two hours...

I put in a compensation claim to Ryanair too and this is the reply I got today:

I refer to your recent correspondence dated 06-03-2019.

I regret the delay of your flight FR 1958 from Dublin - DUB to Nice - NCE on the 03-03-2019, which was due to adverse weather conditions (snow).

As this delay was unexpected we wish to inform you that no compensation is due under EU261/2004 as this was caused due to extraordinary circumstances beyond Ryanair's control.

I hope the above clarifies the situation.
Yours sincerely,

I written back and asked them what were the extraordinary circumstances that caused the delay and that I hoped it was unexpected!

Will let you know what reply I receive.

I received this REPLY from ryanair after outlining why it was not extraordinary. I will be challenging this straight away.

Does anyone know what my next course of action should be?
The EU online dispute resolution? IE or EU small claims court?


Dear XXX,

We refer to your recent correspondence dated 07/03/2019.

We regret the cancellation of your flight 2998 from Dublin - DUB to Amsterdam - AMS on the 03/03/2019 which was due to airplane's deicing delays caused by adverse weather condotions (snow).

As this cancellation was unexpected we wish to inform you that no compensation is due under EU261/2004 as this was caused due to extraordinary circumstances beyond Ryanair's control.

We note you will now receive a refund for your cancelled flight in the amount of 21.56 EUR within the next few days.

We trust that the above clarifies the situation.

Sincerely yours,
C. Bartosiewicz

My bad...I pasted in the wrong mail. The correct one is there now...

billy few mates wrote: »

Even Airhelp...?
Download the free app and fill in the details.

The CAR will surely know what the weather was like on the day, unless the whole Airport was closed and every other operator was affected you should be able to argue your case...
I flew out of DUB early Monday morning (not on Ryanair) so I was checking the arrivals and departures on Sunday evening in case my flight might have been affected, it wasn't. One carrier appeared to have been worse affected than others, I'd be gathering the information on all delayed flights at the airport that night and using that information to support my case...

Dublin Airport Twitter had a load of tweets that night explaining that there were no closures due to snow and that delays were caused by de-icing, which is responsibility of airlines or their handlers. Those could well come in handy as supporting evidence also.

Right, i may as well strike when the irons are hot.

Who are the CAR? Google has failed me...

The UK CAA will handle this issue even though I was flying Dublin to Amsterdam?

Anyone have any screenshots of departures from dublin airport on Sunday night?

So for Ireland (I'll ask my dutchie friends too on this side) its just the small claims court then?

I emailed these guys today to see if I am allowed to bring a case - the EU online dispute resolution:
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/?event=main.trader.register

Has anyone ever used them?

L1011 wrote: »

Comission for Aviation Regulation. UK CAA are irrelevant to you.

The UK CAA have previously taken endorsement action against them in the past, while they ask you to approach your own regulator first that doesn't mean they won't be interested in your case. It won't cost you anything to write to them and let them know what's going on.
In the past they've proven themselves to be more proactive in reminding operators of their obligations under the terms of the legislation than our own regulator.

https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Resolving-travel-problems/Delays-cancellations/Making-a-claim/What-to-do-if-your-claim-is-rejected/

https://www.caa.co.uk/News/UK-Civil-Aviation-Authority-begins-enforcement-action-against-Ryanair/