Hi. I'm in a very specific situation with Ryanair and don't know how to handle. I booked a flight for my family and myself a while ago. Out of Charleroi on May 12th and back later. Yesterday, Charleroi airport made an official announcement that, due to a national manifestation, all inbound and outcoming flights on May 12th will be cancelled and that airline companies would contact their customers to inform them of their options. This is the second time I find myself in this situation... a year ago, we had to fly back to Charleroi and all flights were cancelled because of a national strike. Ryanair only communicated this almost 1 or 2 days later and the only option we had to change flights was 4 (!!) days later than the original date.
We have everything booked for our vacation next week and to make sure I do not end up in the same situation and get offered an alternative flight 4 days later (which would basically be way too close to the return date) I went ahead and switched the May 12th flight, that will be cancelled either way, into May 13th. Which obviously cost a lot of money....
As I did this before Ryanair even announced the cancellation of the original flight (they still haven't), am I withing my right to claim the amount I paid for the switch ? (as CRL Airport and all media confirm that there will be no flights on the 12th)
Thanks