Aer Lingus passengers were highly critical of the airline over the weekend amid chaotic scenes at airports in Ireland and overseas following the almost complete collapse of the company’s computer systems.
The widespread IT failure caused 51 flights to be cancelled on Saturday and a further four on Sunday, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of would-be passengers and leading to large queues forming at Dublin Airport.
Aer Lingus blamed a “major break in connectivity” at its UK-based network provider for downing its cloud-based IT system. The breakdown meant people could not check-in online, print out boarding passes, book flights or get anything by way of effective electronic communication from the airline.
As a result, Aer Lingus had to revert to manual methods for checking people in on Saturday morning, a move which almost immediately led to large delays and disruption.
While the technical issues were resolved within 24 hours, at least 5,000 people could be in line for compensation as a result of the wave of cancellations if the airline cannot show that they were a result of extraordinary circumstances beyond its control. Passengers will be entitled to make a case that a system crash and what have been criticised as inadequate contingency plans are the responsibility of any airline, so the “beyond its control” get-out clause might not apply.
Ultimately it is likely to come down to decisions made by the Commission for Aviation Regulation which is often called on to assess compensation claims and generally does so on a case-by-case basis.
In a statement, the aviation regulator advised impacted passengers to “make a claim for expenses, refunds or compensation [by contacting] the air carrier directly. If you do not agree with their decision, you can refer the matter to the Commission for Aviation Regulation and we will deal with it at no cost to yourself”.
Compensation is set down in European Union regulations and amounts to €250 per passenger for all flights of 1,500km or less; €400 for all EU flights of more than 1,500km and €600 for all other flights of 1,500km-3,500km.
Passengers caught up in the systems meltdown highlighted the difficulties making contact with the airline using any of its channels even after Aer Lingus said its IT issues had been resolved. Some, at home and abroad, accused the company of effectively abandoning them.
Student Imogen Green and her boyfriend were still stranded in France on Sunday evening after their Saturday flight from Marseille to Dublin was cancelled. She said they spent hours messaging and calling Aer Lingus on Sunday in an attempt to reschedule their flight, but had not received any help from the airline.
“I get that these things happen, computer systems can break. But we have had no help. We have had no contact from Aer Lingus,” she said.
The couple then spent €534 on last-minute accommodation for two nights, and Ms Green believes their best option to return to Ireland could be a flight from Paris on Tuesday. “To be honest, I don’t really know what to be doing ... We have had no assistance at all. It is extremely disappointing,” she added.
Margaret Delaney called the airline “a disgrace” for telling passengers that they can get a refund or re-book their flight.
“No one is answering the phone so the only choice you have is to completely book a new flight online and pay again, so it’s not true to say you can change your flight for free,” Ms Delaney said.
Passengers due to fly home from European cities on Saturday were told they could not be accommodated until the middle of this week while passengers attempting to fly home from Bulgaria were told their only option was to wait another week to be accommodated by Aer Lingus.
Transatlantic passengers who had been told that their flights were cancelled were subsequently unable to re-book because the flights had actually taken off albeit it without them.
In a statement, the airline said it “sincerely apologises to customers for the severe disruption”. It added that it had made “additional customer service agents available to deal with high call volumes” and promised to “work assiduously to reaccommodate disrupted customers as efficiently as possible”.
