A court officer boards a Ryanair plane in Austria because the airline failed to pay €890 in compensation to a passenger.
The dispute began in 2024 when a flight from the city of Linz (Austria) to Palma was delayed by 13 hours
An Austrian court officer boarded a Ryanair plane due to the airline's failure to pay compensation to a passenger, the airport where the incident occurred on March 9 confirmed to EFE. The airline had refused to pay a traveler 890 euros in legal fees and compensation for a flight to Mallorca that was delayed two years ago. The dispute began in 2014 when a flight from Linz, Austria, to Palma was delayed by 13 hours. One of the passengers on the affected flight was forced to pay for an alternative flight and, at the same time, claimed reimbursement of her expenses and compensation, as stipulated by aviation regulations. However, Ryanair only refunded the original ticket and not the 250 euros in compensation for such cases or the compensation due for this type of delay, nor did they reimburse the additional 105 euros for the alternative ticket the passenger had to purchase.
Faced with this situation, the traveler took the case to court, which ordered the airline to pay the claimed sum plus interest and legal costs. But the airline ignored the court order.
The head of communications at Linz Airport, Ingo Hagedorn, explained that they "accompanied the bailiff to the plane, where he carried out his official duties." The bailiff initially tried to collect the sum from the pilot, but the crew did not have any cash on hand. At that point, the bailiff affixed a legal seizure notice sticker to the plane. Subsequently, the plane was allowed to take off for London, although technically it remains under court control until the debt is paid.
Ryanair still has the option of paying the 890 euros it owes – 355 euros in compensation, plus interest and costs associated with the proceedings.