Is this story a familiar one, have other pilots had experience of it? Wouldn't the airport be liable to the airline for failing to provide the service?

J

Readers' rants: We want compensation from Ryanair

WE RECENTLY travelled to La Rochelle with Ryanair. Arriving for the return flight, we were told that it would be delayed due to a lack of fire engines at the airport. Subsequently, the flight was cancelled. Ryanair refunded the cost of our return flight, but made no effort to assist us in making other arrangements. Flights on subsequent days were already full, and we were told to make our own way back to the UK. Surely we are due compensation from Ryanair?

Ryanair replies: “Under European regulations, all airports are required to have sufficient fire cover. In this instance, due to a fire truck being out of service, the airport was closed and Ryanair had no alternative but to cancel the La Rochelle/Stansted flight. All passengers received a full refund of their unused ticket and a free transfer to the next available flight. EU regulations say that an airline does not have to offer compensation where the cancellation is beyond the carrier’s control.”