Ryanair Must Pay Client Costs After Volcano Thwarted Flight

Ryanair Holdings Plc must pay passengers for expenses such as food and lodging after a flight cancellation due to a volcano eruption in 2010, the European Union’s top court said in a ruling the Irish carrier claimed would trigger higher fares.

Ryanair and other airlines are obliged to “provide care” to passengers whose flight was canceled, the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled today. While airlines must pay for passengers’ reasonable expenses, they don’t have to pay statutory compensation of as much as 600 euros ($813) in such “extraordinary circumstances,” the court said.