RyanAir Says It Will Not Refund Customers For Flights Not Taken Despite Lockdown

RyanAir boss Michael O'Leary has claimed that customers will not receive a refund for flights scheduled to fly in November.

The news may come as a shock to disappointed holidaymakers, who may have found themselves desperately wanting to change their plans after the government announced that all overseas travel will be banned in England from November 2^nd.

However, O'Leary has now said that if a flight was operating on the day they were scheduled to travel, they will not get their money back.

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Instead, RyanAir are allowing passengers to change to a later flight without paying a fee.

The new lockdown measures for England are set to come into play on Thursday, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation on Saturday evening.

Non-essential retail, restaurants and pubs are expected to close from Thursday and remain shut until 2^nd December at the very earliest.

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Travel abroad is only permitted for work or in exceptional circumstances.

Flight services are among some of the biggest victims during the coronavirus pandemic, with RyanAir reportedly seeing an 80 per cent drop in passenger numbers compared to 2019.

While the carrier is trying to cut costs and has offered staff temporary pay reductions, the brand cannot rule out further job losses.

The carrier reported a €196.5m (£174m) loss for the period compared with a €1.15bn profit last year.

They warned situation was likely to worsen due to news of a second lockdown, saying it "will continue to be a hugely challenging year for Ryanair".

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Speaking on BBC's Today programme, O'Leary said: "If a flight is operating then no, we will not be offering refunds.

"But what customers can avail of is our change facility and we've waived the change fee so if they have booking in November they can change it and move it to December or January if needs be. But there won't be refunds on flights that are operating and travelling."

He added that every customer who had applied for a Covid-linked refund during the initial lockdown period has now received it.

Topics: Ryanair, Coronavirus, travel

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

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