Ryanair says any customer entitled to a refund will now receive their money back within five working days if they use a new simplified process.
The airline says they've streamlined the refund process after 'learning lessons' from the millions of refunds processed during the pandemic.
It's part of a range of new measures the company has introduced via its app in a bid to improve customer service.
There were widespread complaints about Ryanair's refund process during the early stages of the pandemic, as millions of people were unable to fly due to travel restrictions.
While the airline has repeatedly defended its efforts to handle those refunds, Ryanair's marketing director Dara Brady told The Pat Kenny Show they've now made improvements.
He said: “We learned a lot during the COVID process, when processing over 30 million refunds. By and large, we think our team did an excellent job on that.
“We had some small issues with online travel agents who had provided fake passenger contact details, which made it hard for us to process."
Dara said the vast majority of people - particularly those who booked flights directly from the airline - received their refunds, but they did receive feedback that there was "some confusion" around the process.
He said some customers weren't sure exactly which email links needed to be clicked to deal with the refund process.
The airline's now updated their app, and it now includes a more "streamlined" refund process.
He said: “We’re really trying to streamline that process and bring more transparency. What we’re saying is that any customer who is entitled to a refund and selects that as an option, you’ll be to get confirmation and access to that in your Ryanair account with 24 hours.
“Within one click, that can be withdrawn to the original form of payment and that will be paid within five days.”
There'll also be an updated customer service system to deal with refund issues that can't be resolved easily.
However, Dara warned: “It might be the case you mightn’t like the answer [you get] - as we’ve always said, our flights are non-refundable if the flight operates.”
Other changes to the app include a 'day of travel assistant' which will offer live updates on flight status and boarding details (such as gate numbers).
Chargebacks
Ryanair has faced scrutiny recently after it emerged that several hundred people across Europe were barred from flying with the airlines after they used credit card 'chargeback' procedures to gain refunds.
The process allows people who haven't received a refund directly to go directly to a bank or credit company for a 'chargeback' - basically reversing the original transaction.
This is different from being granted a refund from the company itself, and usually hits the airline or merchant with an extra charge.
Ryanair has now said customers who used the process won't be allowed to travel unless they settle their debt with the company.
Dara said this issue impacted less than 850 people, and defended the approach his company has taken.
He said: “Clearly, if you booked a ticket to go to Ed Sheeran in Croke Park and you can’t go… it’s not the case you can then go and say ‘I want a refund for my ticket’
“The terms and conditions clearly state that if you buy a ticket and it operates it's non-refundable.”
He claimed it's also “absolutely” in Ryanair's terms & conditions that they can ban people from flying with them if they owe the airline money.
