Ryanair is to cancel 40 to 50 flights per day for the next six weeks, in a move that could affect up to 285,000 passengers. And the reason for the cuts may annoy those affected, as the airline has revealed that it is in a bid to improve punctuality of flights, and also clear a backlog of staff leave by the end of the year.
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Bosses from the airline said that less than two per cent of flights would be cancelled, and that passengers will be offered alternative flights or refunds. The move will help Ryanair to hit its annual punctuality target of 90%, but passengers have complained about the short notice of the cancellations, with some receiving text messages telling them that their flight has been cancelled just hours before they were due to travel.
Ryanair is cancelling flights in a bid to improve punctuality
"Thanks so much @Ryanair for cancelling our flight tomorrow morning. I really appreciate the 24 hours notice that I can't go on holiday!" one tweeted. Another wrote: "So we are in Krakow & #Ryanair cancel our flight home on Monday - what??? How are we supposed to get home?"
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Ryanair's Marketing Officer Kenny Jacobs said affected customers with bookings up to 20 September have been informed. A page on the Ryanair website details cancellations until Wednesday, with 56 flights cancelled on Monday, 55 on Tuesday and 53 on Wednesday. Now customers are urging the budget airline to list all of the flights that they intend to cancel over the next six weeks so they have enough time to make alternative plans.
The announcement comes just a couple of weeks after Ryanair revealed that it was making changes to its hand luggage allowance, meaning passengers will no longer be able to take two pieces of cabin luggage on board.
The old policy allowed customers to carry on a normal cabin bag, such as a wheelie case that measured 50cm x 40cm x 20cm, along with a smaller bag such as a handbag under 35cm x 20cm x 20cm. However from 1 November passengers will only be able to take their smaller handbag or small backpack on board, with any normal sized wheelie cases placed in the hold free of charge - as long as they weigh less than 10kg.
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