Ryanair wins appeal on repatriation

A Swedish court ruled Wednesday that Irish low-cost airline Ryanair had no obligation to compensate a couple stranded in Brussels when one of its flights was cancelled due to heavy fog.

The Svea Appeals Court ruled that Rune and Eva-Marie Brännström were only entitled to the 322 kronor ($38) they had paid for their tickets, which the carrier had already reimbursed. "Ryanair has proven that the flight was cancelled due to extraordinary
circumstances," the court said.

The ruling overturned a lower court verdict ordering Ryanair to pay each of
them 2,325 kronor after a 2006 flight they had been booked on from Brussels toStockholm was cancelled due to heavy fog.

Ryanair had offered them a new flight two days later and reimbursed their
tickets, but they received no other compensation and Ryanair did not offer to pay for their meals or hotel.

The couple said they could not wait two days and made their own way home by taxi, train and rental car, paying for the trip themselves. The appeals court on Wednesday said Ryanair would be compensated around 300,000 kronor in trial expenses.

"I am very disappointed with the appeals court verdict," Rune Brännström
told Swedish public radio. "The consequence will be that it will be considered correct behaviour forairlines to dump their passengers. That's just not right," he said.

He said he and his wife were willing to take the case to Sweden's Supreme
Court and even to the European Union Court of Justice.