Ryanair passengers who received compensation for cancelled and delayed flights have reportedly been charged extra fees after banks rejected the cheques.
One passenger, who waited 11 months for compensation, said she was now worse off after the bank added a fee of €20 (£17.94), the BBC reported today.
Several people said their bank had returned cheques they had received from the airline because they were unsigned.
Europe’s largest budget airline apologised and blamed the problem on an “administrative error”.
More than one million Ryanair passengers in Europe have had delayed or cancelled flights since April, according to the airline’s own figures.
The latest one-day pilots’ strike on August 10 led to the cancellation of nearly 400 flights.
Ryanair has blamed other delays on bad weather or air traffic control shortages.
The BBC reported that it had spoken to more than ten people who said their compensation from Ryanair had been refused by the bank.
Businessman Gordon Fong received £440 after his flight home from Spain in June was first diverted and then landed at a different UK airport, leaving him with a 150-mile taxi journey to his home in Bournemouth.
“But when I received the cheque there was no signature,” he said.
“I took time off work to drive to the bank but was told by the teller I couldn’t use it. I had to go back to the website to try and get them to respond and send a new cheque, but I still haven’t had a reply.”
Karen Joyce said she spent 11 months waiting for compensation from Ryanair after her 25th wedding anniversary holiday flight was cancelled in September.
Ryanair paid part of her claim but when she went to cash a second cheque it was returned by the bank – along with a €20 fee.
Ryanair said “a very small number of cheques” processed in July were issued without a required signatory “due to an administrative error”.
It said the cheques had been “re-issued to customers along with a letter of explanation” on August 15.
“We apologise again for any inconvenience caused to customers,” the airline added.
Ryanair also said passengers whose flights were cancelled “were either refunded or re-accommodated on to alternative flights and we process all valid EU261 compensation claims within 10 working days”.
“Ryanair complies fully with EU261 legislation, under which no compensation is payable to customers when the (strike) delay/cancellation is beyond the airline’s control.
“If these strikes, by a tiny minority of Ryanair pilots, were within Ryanair’s control, there would have been no strikes and no cancellations.”
Meanwhile, Ryanair has forged a partnership to sell Air Malta flights on its website.
Ryanair is also due to confirm tomorrow (Thursday) that it will be basing two new aircraft at Luton airport this winter.