The Yorkshire Post says: Ryanair must now go out of its way to assist those who have been inconvenienced

Did 140 Ryanair pilots suddenly get up one morning and decide they were all going to jump ship?They’ve made chique European destinations accessible to the masses.

When services go awry, they represent the very worst of business, as exemplified by the growing furore over Ryanair’s cancellation of dozens of flights each day because of a shortage of pilots.

Leaving aside how a businessman supposedly as reputable as Michael O’Leary could not have foreseen the implications of rota changes as rival airlines started poaching his staff, it is the company’s cavalier customer service – bordering upon the negligible – that is simply reprehensible.

Not only did Ryanair believe, at the outset, that it could ride roughshod over the regulatory rules that are in place to protect the interests of travellers, but the regulators themselves have been too slow to remind Mr O’Leary – last year’s Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning owner – of his company’s obligations. Why?

For the record, thousands of passengers are incurring unnecessary expense as they try and reschedule holidays, business trips and pre-planned journeys because of the airline’s mismanagement and reluctance to reveal the flights being cancelled until public pressure force its hand.

Rather than making it as awkward as possible for those concerned to seek financial redress, or switch their flights to rival airlines, Ryanair should be going out of its way to assist those who have been inconvenienced. If it did so, the resulting goodwill would help offset short-term financial losses.