Thousands of Ryanair passengers could see their flights cancelled over the next six weeks as the airline plans to cut as many as 50 departures a day. Here's what you need to know.

What’s happening?

Budget airline Ryanair is cancelling up to 50 flights daily for the next six weeks after it "messed up" the planning of pilot holidays.

A change in the company's holiday year, from April to March to a calendar year from January 1 2018, has seen an increase in holiday allocations as staff used their annual leave before the end of the year.

Why are they cancelling flights?

Ryanair said air traffic control (ATC) delays and strikes, bad weather and a backlog of annual leave to be taken by pilots and cabin crew had led to punctuality falling to below 80% over the last two weeks.

Robin Kiely, head of communications at Ryanair, said: "We have operated a record schedule and traffic numbers during the peak summer months of July and August but must now allocate annual leave to pilots and cabin crew in September and October while still running the bulk of our summer schedule.

"This increased leave, at a time of ATC capacity delays and strikes, has severely reduced our on-time performance over the past two weeks to under 80%.

"By cancelling less than 2% of our flying programme over the next six weeks, until our winter schedule starts in early November, we can improve the operational resilience of our schedules and restore punctuality to our annualised target of 90%."

When will I know if my flight’s cancelled?

Ryanair customers are being advised to check the email address they used to make their booking.

Cancellation notices for flights cancelled up to and including September 20 have been sent to affected customers.

Ryanair is also now publishing a list of flights that have been cancelled on their website at https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/useful-info/help-centre/travel-updates/flight-cancellations7

At this stage, no flights appear to have been cancelled from Bournemouth Airport.

What happens if my flight is cancelled?

Ryanair have said they will do their “utmost to arrange alternative flights and/or full refund” for passengers whose flights are cancelled.

The European Passenger Rights legislation says passengers are entitled to 250 euros in compensation if a short haul flight is cancelled which rises to 600 euros for long haul flights.

It also says airlines have to offer full refunds, paid within seven days, or rebookings for a flight cancelled at short notice

According to Simon Calder, travel editor for the Independent, “the only way the airline can dodge this liability is if it tells you of the cancellation at least two weeks ahead.”

Aviation Minister Lord Callanan said: "We expect all airlines to fulfil their obligations to their customers and do everything possible to notify them well in advance of any disruption to their journey.

"In the event of any disruption or cancellation airlines must ensure customers are fully compensated and every effort is made to provide alternative travel arrangements."

How do I claim compensation?

If you think you are eligible for compensation from your cancelled flight, you'll need to fill out the online form on the Ryanair website.

Visit https://eu261expenseclaim.ryanair.com/

I haven’t had an email, will my flight still go ahead?

Ryanair has said flights are operating as scheduled unless you received an email saying your flight has been cancelled.