The managing director of a Slevin Group, a printing company in Dublin, succeeded in suing Ryanair yesterday for being refused permission to board a flight 30 minutes before take-off.
Mr Edward Slevin told Dublin District Court he and two of his employees arrived at Leeds Bradford airport at between 4.15 and 4.25 p.m. on August 29th last year to board a 6.15 p.m. flight to Dublin.
He said when he arrived there was nobody at the Ryanair check-in desk. He and his employees waited for 10 to 12 minutes and then went for coffee and a drink. At about 5.25 p.m. he went back to the desk and there was a queue. He returned to the bar and went back to the check-in desk at 5.45 p.m., half an hour before departure, and there was nobody at the desk.
He was told by the Servisair desk (an agent of Ryanair), that check-in had closed. Ryanair's customer standards manager, Ms Siobhan O'Neill, said passengers were advised when they booked flights that check-in closed 30 minutes before departure.
Judge Bridget Reilly said it may well have been Mr Slevin's fault that he did not know the terms and conditions of Ryanair flights. However he said he was at check-in on the dot of 5.45 p.m. and there was no Ryanair witness to give direct evidence to dispute it. She awarded Mr Slevin £498.94 damages plus £500 costs.