One of many websites springing up

Probably is the answer in my opinion.
The landmark ruling, allowing passengers to claim compensation of up to 480GBP for delays of more than 3 hours can and probably will have far reaching consequences for all. And who will suffer - passengers and of course tourist reliant businesses, as air fares are bound to increase!

The passengers rights legislation, known as EU261 covers any EU flight, which obviously covers all journeys between the UK and Spain. The amount of compensation is worked out on the distance - for those covering less than 930 miles then the amount awarded is 199 GBP ... this would cover London to Alicante, as the distance is 906 miles. However, those traveling from any further north will fall into the next banding covering distances between 930 and 1860 miles, warranting a compensation payout of 320 GBP. (for example, Birmingham to Alicante is 982 miles)

Will future delays be compensated?

Claims can be retrospective for up to 6 years, but who in all honesty keeps airline tickets or receipts from that long ago, as they are required for any claims! I struggle to find receipts for large purchases from one month ago, so it would be useless for me! However, the ruling states that airlines do not have to pay out if the delay was caused by "extraordinary circumstances" - which is a clause many probably use. Im sure that there is bound to be an increase in fee charging websites, which will work on a commission basis of up to 25% of any compensation received.  Injury lawyers are already widely advertised, so this is the next step I bet.

A couple from Staffordshire took Thomas Cook to court over a delay in 2009, which was initially rejected, but on appeal, which came through at the beginning of this week won their case and were awarded 800 euros in compensation by the European Court of Justice. In a separate case, Ryanair´s refusal to compensate a passenger over the ash cloud delay in 2010 broke EU laws a court ruled. This was after a woman tried to claim 1130 euros to cover the cost of meals, accommodation and transport. The EU Regulation states that there is no limit, either temporal or monetary, therefore the full cost must be imposed on the air carrier for the whole period during which the passengers concerned must await re-routing.

Will Ryanair flights be this full in future?

Mr O´Leary said that the ruling "was mad" and to a degree I must say that I am with him. If someone pays lets say 30 euros for a flight to Spain then how on earth can they expect to be able to claim such huge amounts. There should for one be a cap, which there isn´t. It is not the airlines fault that a volcano decided to erupt... its a very controversial issue, especially if you are caught up in it Im sure. One solution could be that everyone should have travel insurance for such incidents, as making the airlines responsible will only mean one thing - the price of flights will go up to cover such situations.

The Benidorm tourist industry relies heavily on the British market, as they make up over 40% of the sector. They are very loyal customers, with 72% returning to the resort again... but with this new EU ruling and possible rise in airfares, maybe the percentage will drop due to the shortage of reasonable fares. Restaurants and hotels take 60% of their takings over the high season, namely July, August and September when airfares are at the most expensive. With nearly half of Spanish households saying that they will not be taking a holiday this year due to the economic climate, Benidorm will rely even more on the Brits.

Yolanda promoting Benidorm at the Fitur Expo 2013

At the International Tourism Fair "Fitur" currently on in Madrid, the Benidorm Mayor Agustin Navarro announced that the town has allocated a 200,000 euro advertising budget to promote Benidorm to the UK market. The focus will primarily be on 7 cities, among which are Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and Newcastle. Its a very crucial market but will the airlines scupper the growth potential?

President of Hosbec, Antonio Mayor already said last year that many hotels are reducing room prices drastically, yet there are no customers to take up the offers because the price of the airfares are so expensive, it is putting most off. I remember looking for a flight back to the UK last October or November, out of any school holidays and the prices were coming up over 250 euro return! If the fares were reasonable you would get people booking a long weekend, but with those airfare prices it would work out an extremely expensive 4 days!

Its a catch twenty two situation. Airfares go up so less people book. Less book so the price goes up to compensate for a drop in bookings. Its the same situation with the toll roads here. Less drivers use them so the toll prices go up resulting in even more abandoning the toll roads! Drop the price and more will book... but try telling that to Mr O´Leary and Stelios!