A SCOTTISH holidaymaker whose flight from the Canary Islands was delayed by more than 18 hours has won his two-year battle for compensation with a budget airline.

 

The low cost carrier has been ordered to pay Donald Cowan and his wife, Lydia, €800 (£600) plus £73 expenses after the retired police officer finally took Ryanair to court over its repeated refusal to pay out.

His victory could cost Ryanair up to €80,000 (£59,000) if all passengers travelling on the affected Fuerteventura to Prestwick flight now come forward.

Under European Union law, airline passengers are entitled to up to €600 compensation if they arrive at their final destination more than three hours late, unless the airline can demonstrate "extraordinary circumstances" such as natural disaster.

The couple, from Alloa, Clackmannanshire, were stranded in Fuerteventura for 18 and a half hours when Ryanair flight FR6954 was hit by a technical glitch on March 22 2013.

The flight was scheduled to take off at 7.10pm on Friday but did not leave until 1.45pm the following day.

Mr Cowan, 54, said: "We had no communication from anybody. Absolutely nothing. When we arrived at the airport at 4pm the screens were already saying 'delayed' but Ryanair don't have anyone based in Fuerteventura, so we were all just sitting there waiting for information.

"By 11pm the airport staff came over to say 'you can't stay here, we're closing up now'."

The Cowans paid for a hotel and eventually got home to Alloa on the Saturday night.

Although the couple's hotel and taxi costs were "reimbursed very promptly", Mr Cowan said his attempts to claim compensation were stonewalled.

After writing to complain about poor customer service, he received a letter from Ryanair which blamed the delay on an "unexpected safety/technical problem" and circumstances "outside Ryanair's control".

Mr Cowan wrote again, appealing the decision but was again knocked back.

In January 2014, after watching a television programme about passenger rights, Mr Cowan wrote to the Irish carrier making reference to the EU rules.

He was told that Ryanair's aircraft are "maintained to the highest European standard" but "despite our excellent maintenance, unexpected technical faults do occur". Again, the airline refused to back down and eventually Mr Cowan decided to mount a small claims case against the airline at Alloa Sheriff Court, representing himself.

At a hearing on February 5, Ryanair said that the plane being used for flight FR6954 was en route to Fuerteventura when it experienced a technical fault on its wing, known as "flap asymmetry", and was forced to divert to Faro, Portugal.

The replacement plane was then hit by lightning on take off from Faro and "had to be withdrawn from commercial service for inspection".

A third plane was then grounded at Faro because the Canary Islands' night curfew meant it would not have been allowed to land until the Saturday morning.

Mr Cowan said he was surprised by these details, which first emerged during the court case.

Nonetheless, the Sheriff upheld Mr Cowan's claim and ordered Ryanair to pay out, ruling that the airline had "not taken all reasonable measures" to avoid the delay.

Mr Cowan said: "I think they thought they were taking on a country bumpkin. But it's not about me, it's about the principle of it and for all the people in the same position.

"What annoyed me most was the total lack of communication and the dismissive way we were treated."

A Ryanair spokesman said they are considering an appeal.

He said: "This flight was delayed after the aircraft suffered a lightning strike. Affected customers were reimbursed for refreshment and accommodation expenses. As this delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond our control, no compensation was due.

"Ryanair fully complies with all EU261 passenger legislation and deals with each claim on a case by case basis. Our lawyers are studying this decision and we don't comment on pending legal matters."