Ryanair accused of charging UK passengers more

Budget airline Ryanair has been accused of charging Britons more than passengers booking flights in other countries - and one passenger has already won his fight for compensation.

The Mail reports that Simon Couzens brought a case of indirect race discrimination through Ireland's Equality Tribunal, when he discovered that he was paying £444 more for his tickets from Stansted to Croatia than he would have if he was travelling from Croatia to Stansted.

Mr Couzens bought seven return tickets for a family holiday this summer, at a cost of £2378.32. When he couldn't find an explanation for the price discrepancy he looked into bringing a case against the airline. However, Ryanair then agreed to settle with him and refund the difference between the ticket prices, provided that the abandoned the case and kept the settlement confidential.

The airline then paid the settlement into his account, even though he didn't agree to keeping quiet about the case, and it now seems that other British travellers may also be eligible for refunds.

Mr Couzens told The Mail: "British travellers are paying considerably more for the same trip. It is not as if it is a greater distance or they need to use more fuel. I have a feeling they responded because they were in a sticky situation. I would like to see them refund everyone. I don't think they should charge different rates to different people."

A spokesperson for Ryanair told The Mail: "Passengers pay for flights in the currency their flight departs from."

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