This 'shambles' of a Government response as Ryanair caves in over compensation

BUDGET airline Ryanair today ended its defiance of EU regulations by agreeing to fully compensate its passengers caught up in the ash-cloud crisis.

Yesterday the Irish no-frills carrier's chief executive Michael O'Leary said he would only reimburse travellers the original price of their air fare and no more.

But today the airline said that it would comply with the regulations under which EU airlines are required to reimburse the "reasonable receipted expenses of disrupted passengers".

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Amid recriminations about the Government's handling of the crisis, Mr O'Leary sparked fury yesterday by saying he would only reimburse travellers the original price of their air fare and no more.

Mike Carrivick, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives which represents more than 90 airlines, also said the EU regulations were "unfair" and were never intended to cover cases such as the ash cloud crisis.

The Government was forced to defend its handling of the volcanic ash crisis. With operators warning it could be weeks before services return to normality, airline bosses and Conservative politicians questioned the decision to close the UK's airways last Thursday following the eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland.

British Airways boss Willie Walsh said he felt "lessons can be learned" from the handling of the event, stating: "I don't believe it was necessary to impose a blanket ban on all UK airspace last Thursday. My personal belief is we could have safely continued operating for a period of time."

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Peter Long, chief executive of leading travel firm TUI, went further, describing the Government's response as a "shambles".

"It is clear they underestimated the severity of the consequences of the decision for a blanket closure of the airspace for such a protracted period of time, " he said.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended the Government's actions, stressing passenger safety must always come first.

Asked why it had taken so long to reopen UK airspace, Mr Brown said: "To get the right scientific advice. You have got to make sure that people are safe and secure. We would never be forgiven if we had let planes fly and there was a real danger to people's lives."

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Transport Secretary Lord Adonis added that "continuous assessments" had been made throughout the shutdown. "At every stage decisions were based on the decisions of safety regulators, " he said.

However, he admitted that the Government was "too cautious" in keeping airspace closed.

Tory leader David Cameron called for a "rapid inquiry", stating: "It is clear there has been some muddle and confusion in Government about some of the information people have been given."

He in turn was accused of electioneering by Liberal Democrat politicians who said the ash crisis should not be turned into a political issue.

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Leader Nick Clegg, whose own children are still stranded on the continent, said: "I really just don't think this is an issue where people want to have politicians tearing strips off each other. It was completely unprecedented."

As hoards of exhausted travellers flock back into the country following the reopening of British airports, reports have surfaced of many more having been effectively abandoned by their airlines while awaiting a flight home.

Tricia Gott and her friend Steve Humphries, both from Settle in North Yorkshire, have been stuck in Hong Kong since Sunday and have received no assistance from Air France.

"They just told us it wasn't their problem, " Ms Gott said. "They said they'd only get us a hotel if we were flying first class. We're now paying 120 a night."

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Consumer magazine Which? said passengers should contact airlines immediately to demand their money back. But with the cost of the six-day closure now estimated at over 1bn, many airlines are already fighting demands for compensation

As flights finally began landing at UK airports yesterday, one of the first passengers to arrive was Margaret Christian, from Doncaster, who was desperate to meet her newborn granddaughter Daisy. Daisy was born while Mrs Christian, 58, was on a cruise with husband John.

Mrs Christian said: "I was panicking because I wanted to get home for my daughter and to meet Daisy of course. We were told at 12.30am that we had to be ready by 3am to fly, and at 6am our plane left Greece. We came straight over to see Daisy without even going home."

Yesterday afternoon the first international flight arrived back at Leeds Bradford Airport from Malaga.

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Pat Gibson, of Alwoodley, Leeds, who was welcomed back by her three-year-old granddaughter, Scarlett, was delighted to be back.

She said: "We were OK because we were staying with Spanish friends." But she added that others at the airport in Spain were "not so fortunate."

Mark Chappell, of Gildersome, Leeds, arrived back with children Max, 10, Olivia, 11 and Ava, 10.

They had been in Spain an extra three days but he joked his children would not have minded staying longer.

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More than 280 civilians and 440 troops arrived back in the UK on board a Royal Navy amphibious assault ship after being stranded in Spain.

HMS Albion docked at Portsmouth Naval Base yesterday evening having picked up its load of passengers from Santander on Tuesday.

Liam and Sharon Cotter, with their three children, Patrick, 15, Grace, 20, and Faith, 11, from Wetherby, Yorkshire, had become stuck in Tenerife and after several cancellations had caught a flight to Madrid.

They were then offered a place on the Navy ship by a member of British Embassy staff.

The family was full of praise for the members of the armed forces on the trip back.

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