Irish airline Ryanair has said passengers who received refunds through 'chargebacks' on their credit cards will have to repay the money if they wish to travel with the low-cost flyer in the future.
A 'chargeback' allows consumers to secure a refund on a purchase by asking their credit or debit card company to charge the money back to the bank of the retailer in question.
A small number of customers who bought non-refundable tickets on Ryanair flights but then chose not to travel processed 'chargebacks' to recoup the loss.
The airline said getting the money back on unused flights during the pandemic in this manner is "unlawful".
As a result, these passengers will be "required to settle their outstanding debt before they will be allowed to fly with Ryanair again", the company said.
Less than 850 people sought refunds in this manner, which represents "a tiny fraction of Ryanair’s 150 million passengers annually".
It comes after an investigation by MoneySavingExpert in the UK which found that some travellers who received 'chargeback' refunds would be "barred" from flying with Ryanair until the money is returned.
The site found that some customers had received refunds ranging from €470 to €740 after they did not travel due to government advice during Covid-19.
They will now be required to "settle their outstanding debt" before they can fly with Ryanair again.
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: "The many millions of Ryanair customers whose flights were cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic and who applied directly to Ryanair for refunds, which they received directly from Ryanair, will be completely unaffected by these measures.
"There is a tiny minority of passengers (less than 850) who purchased non-refundable tickets on Ryanair flights which operated as scheduled during Covid-19 but who chose not to travel and then unlawfully processed chargebacks via their credit card company.
"These few passengers will be required to settle their outstanding debt before they will be allowed to fly with Ryanair again.
"This regretted restriction applies to only a tiny fraction of Ryanair’s 150 million passengers annually who chose to unlawfully break their booking agreements with us.”
