Ryanair Extends Flight Cancellations

Ryanair passengers' headaches aren't going away anytime soon.

According to The Independent, the low-cost Irish carrier's mass cancellations won't be over until at least the spring.

Ryanair is scrapping an additional 18,000 flights scheduled between November 2017 and March 2018.

MORE Airlines & Airports

JetBlue To Move Travel Products Subsidiary to Fort...

Thomas Cook Airlines Expands to Seattle

US Travel Praises Open Skies Resolution

The news comes just one week after the airline announced it would cancel more than 1,600 flights between September 19 and October 28.

The additional cancellations will impact about 400,000 passengers and dozens of routes. The airline will suspend service on approximately 34 routes over the winter. 

Affected itineraries will include London Stansted to Belfast, Newcastle to Faro and Las Palmas to Glasgow.

Ryanair also said it will fly 25 fewer aircraft in the coming months to "eliminate all risk of further flight cancellations because slower growth creates lots of spare aircraft and crews across Ryanair’s 86 bases this winter," The Independent reports.

Impacted travelers will have the option of a refund or rebooking on a different flight. They will also receive a €40 ($53.50) travel voucher—€80 ($107) for a roundtrip flight—to use during the month of October on a Ryanair flight between October and March 2018.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary apologized to passengers and stated that "slower growth" will allow the company to grant necessary vacation time to its employees.

READ MORE: Ryanair's Flight Cancellation Fallout

"While over 99 percent of our 129 million customers will not have been affected by any cancellations or disruptions, we deeply regret any doubt we caused existing customers last week about Ryanair’s reliability or the risk of further cancellations," O'Leary said in a statement.

"From today, there will be no more rostering related flight cancellations this winter or in summer 2018. Slower growth this winter will create lots of spare aircraft and crews which will allow us to manage the exceptional volumes of annual leave we committed to delivering in the nine months to December 2017," added O'Leary. "We will start a new 12-month leave period on January 1, 2018, in full compliance with EU regulations and the IAA’s requirements."

Travelers can check on their flight status using Rangewell's Ryanair Cancelled Flights search tool.

Follow @_Pat_Clarke