Ryanair bans passengers unless they pay back COVID refunds

Ryanair Newcastle flights
By Linsey McNeill
12/10/2021
Home » Ryanair bans passengers unless they pay back COVID refunds

Ryanair is allegedly demanding passengers pay back refunds for flights they couldn’t take during lockdown before allowing them to board new flights.

Reports claim that the airline is allowing them to rebook, but then banning them from boarding until they pay back the refunds they received.

The airline refused to refund thousands of customers for flights that went ahead during the lockdowns even though there was a ban on international travel.

Instead, it gave customers the option to change to rebook their flights for a later date, but many successfully reclaimed their money via their debit or credit card chargeback scheme.

However, a report on the financial blog MoneySaving Expert says Ryanair is demanding those passengers repay the money if they’ve gone on to rebook with the airline.

A report in the Telegraph quotes one passenger saying he was told he would never be able to fly with Ryanair again unless he paid back £680 for return flights to France that he couldn’t take in January due to the international travel ban.

Matthew Glover had received a refund via his American Express card for the flights booked in January 2020, but after booking again with Ryanair last January he was told he wouldn’t be allowed to fly until he’d paid back the £680.

Ryanair says its terms and conditions state it reserves the right to stop people flying if they owe the airline money ‘in respect to payment having been dishonoured, denied or recharged against us’.

It does not refund customers who choose of their own accord not to travel on flights that are still going ahead. 

Earlier this month, the Competition and Markets Authority dropped an investigation into whether Ryanair and British Airways had broken the law by refusing cash refunds for flights passengers were unable to take.

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