Ryanair Offer Apology On Rome Airport Closure

The budget carrier, Ryanair has offered an apology after the unexpected closure of Rome's Ciampino Airport this week - following the emergency landing of a Ryanair flight there on Monday - which led to knock-on problems for passengers travelling to and from the Italian city.

While more than 160 passengers on board the plane escaped with few injuries in the evacuation, - which was forced to land after suffering multiple bird strikes - those travelling to and from Rome later were left fuming.

Passengers said they were left to their own devices as the aircraft involved was still on the runway on Tuesday and with the damage done to its left main landing gear severely delaying its removal.

Almost all Ryanair flights were shown on the company website as cancelled, with those that did show as being in service depending on passengers being bussed after check-in to Rome's other, main airport to meet diverted aircraft.

The company said it had made some alternative arrangements for Ryanair flights to Rome and were insisting that details were on the airline's website.

This proved to be "hopeless" for some travellers who were unable to either book any flights from Rome at all during Tuesday, or to complete the required input of information on a special link for passengers who were supposed to travel over the period of cancellations.

In one case, a young Co Antrim man was first forced to take an overnight train to Rome on Monday night, having been refused his flight booking from Pisa - and getting no help from Ryanair staff - then attempted to fly out next day on a previously booked Ryanair flight to Milan, and was informed by the website that all the flights were still halted.

However, after the Newtownabbey passenger took an overnight train back to Pisa, and was forced to pay full fare to make his own way back to the UK, he discovered that his original flight had actually departed from Rome after all, as the runway had re-opened unannounced, leaving the passenger fuming and unimpressed by the level of service and information offered by airline staff.

In response, a Dublin-based Ryanair spokeswoman said that passengers who had their scheduled flight service cancelled as a result of the closure of Rome were provided with the option of rebooking their flights free of charge or cancelling their trip and claiming a full refund on their unused flights.

She insisted that every effort was made to re-accommodate all passengers and that passengers who chose to make their own travel arrangements are entitled to a refund of the unused part of their Ryanair ticket.

"Ryanair sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers by these flights cancellations," she said, and advised passengers to examine their travel insurance policy in order to claim compensation.

(BMcC)