Ryanair has bowed to pressure from the UK aviation regulator and emailed thousands of customers affected by its pilot rostering debacle to inform them of their passenger rights.
It also on Friday placed a statement on its website outlining refund and re-routing options.
The airline again apologised for the disruption and inconvenience caused by the rostering "failure" and said it had already re-accommodated more than 90 per cent of the 400,000 customers affected by a second wave of schedule changes over winter.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority launched action against the Irish carrier earlier this week, accusing it of failing to inform consumers of their rights, despite previous warnings it should do so.
In a letter sent to Ryanair Thursday, the CAA said it required Ryanair to issue a press release by 5pm Friday, September 29 explaining how it would re-route passengers and a commitment to assist passengers who have chosen an option not suitable to them as a result of being misled by the airline.
It also wanted a clear statement at the top of the Ryanair’s home page providing a link to the release.
The CAA first raised the issue when the carrier announced it was cancelling flights affecting 315,000 customers over September-October because of problems with rostering pilot leave.
It told it to make a corrective public statement, to ensure customers were not misled and had accurate comprehensive information relating to their rights and entitlements.
Ryanair this week revealed the travel plans of almost 400,000 Ryanair passengers will be disrupted by a move to fly 25 fewer aircraft, cancel 18,000 flights and suspend 34 routes over winter.
The CAA said the airline again failed to provide customers with the necessary and accurate information about their passenger rights.
This particularly related to the failure by Ryanair to tell passengers they could be re-routed on other airlines and about care and assistance entitlements, which include expenses.
"There are clear laws in place, which are intended to assist passengers in the event of a cancellation, helping minimise both the frustration and inconvenience caused by circumstances completely out of their control,’’ said CAA chief executive Andrew Haines.
“We have made this crystal clear to Ryanair, who are well aware of their legal obligations, which includes how and when they should reroute passengers, along with the level of information it provides its passengers.
“The information Ryanair published today again fails to makes this clear.
“In expediting our enforcement action we are seeking to ensure that Ryanair's customers will receive the correct and necessary information, to make an informed choice about an alternative flight.”
The airline told the CAA it had provided clarification to call centre staff on refunds on re-routing. However, The Guardian said it had seen a memo to call centre staff telling them they could only offer flights with other carriers if the price did not exceed three times the value of the original Ryanair fare.
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