The Charleroi commercial court ruled on Friday that airline company Ryanair must compensate the companies Happy Flights and AirHelp, who represented many passengers, in the context of three cases involving flights cancelled in autumn 2017.
The court effectively found their demand acceptable. The exact amount was not disclosed.
The dispute between both firms and the Irish company had gone on for several months. In all, 172 cases had to be examined by the tribunal, including some that had been added to the proceedings and would not be heard until next September.
Following several months of legal proceedings, an initial judgement concerning three cases was given on Friday. The tribunal considered the request of the complainants, represented by Happy Flights and AirHelp, acceptable. It ruled the low-cost Irish airline must compensate the three persons involved. The exact amount of compensation was not disclosed.
Maître Jeroen De Man, the lawyer for both companies, reproached Ryanair "for pulling out all the stops to delay the tribunal's judgement."
The airline cast doubt on whether the complainant parties were consumers "seeing that the latter had recourse to two commercial companies to defend their interests." Its lawyer, Maître Price Charles, had also pointed out that there was a precise reimbursement claim procedure to be followed on the company's internet site.
A further judgement would be given next Friday on several dozen other cases concerning cancelled flights.
The Brussels Times
