Seven passengers on a Ryanair flight from Trapani Birgi to Rome Fiumicino have been awarded a combined €1,750 after their plane landed more than three hours late. The Justice of the Peace Court in Trapani handed down six separate favourable rulings, awarding €250 to each traveller under EU Regulation 261/2004. Flight FR8916 operated on 15 May 2024, and the passengers, assisted by claims firm ItaliaRimborso, waited more than two years for the outcome.

The courts confirmed the fixed compensation for short-haul routes under 1,500 km and ordered the airline to cover the passengers' legal costs. Ryanair had argued the passengers could not take the case to court because they had not first lodged a formal written complaint with the airline, but judges dismissed that defence outright. The rulings stated that the right to compensation arises automatically once a flight arrives more than three hours late, and said the airline could have avoided the full process by accepting the requests at the earlier conciliation stage.S1S2

ItaliaRimborso noted that many travellers on the same flight never received anything, either because they never claimed, accepted an initial rejection, or gave up when the airline insisted on a written complaint. The legal entitlement is identical for every passenger arriving more than three hours late unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances, so the difference in outcome came down to whether people documented the delay and persisted.S1S2

Under EU Regulation 261/2004, arrival delays of three hours or more normally trigger fixed compensation of €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for medium-haul routes and €600 for long-haul. Care such as food, drink and hotel accommodation where needed is a separate right, and airlines can refuse cash compensation only if they prove the disruption was caused by events outside their control.S1S2