Ryanair said this evening European Union governments should throw out a new law setting levels of compensation for delayed passengers and vowed to challenge the law in court if they do not.
The Irish no-frills airline is lobbying EU governments to reject the bill that will set a flat rate of €250 for passengers denied boarding onto short-haul flights. The legislation is at its last stage before becoming law.
"It is not in the consumer's interest. It is going to lead to increased costs," Mr Jim Callaghan, Ryanair's head of regulatory affairs, said.
Mr Callaghan said he expected other airlines to support Ryanair in challenging the rules if they become law. "But if the worst comes to the worst we will challenge it on our own."
The bill was finalised last month by members of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, representing national governments. It now only has to be ratified by both bodies - usually a formality.
Ryanair says the bill has changed drastically since transport ministers last saw it and sets intolerable requirements on airlines, even those advertised as "no-frills", to provide drinks, meals and hotel rooms to stranded passengers.
"A lot of member states don't realise how bad this thing (the law) has become," Mr Callaghan said on the sidelines of a conference held by the European Air Law Association.
Ryanair believes passenger compensation, in cases of long delay or cancellation of flights, should be left up to individual airlines, letting consumers choose whether to buy a ticket that includes such safeguards.
Ryanair is awaiting another EU regulatory decision which could have a major impact on the way it, and other no-frills carriers, operate.
The European Commission is due in the coming weeks to announce whether financial incentives it gets from a small airport in the Belgian town of Charleroi are illegal state aid, a decision which will set the rules on how far airports can go to attract new carriers.