The claim stems from an investigation by consumer champion MoneySavingExpert (MSE), which found some holidaymakers who booked trips for 2021 were told they could only fly if they returned the original refunds.
MSE spoke to three passengers who claimed they were told they could not fly until they gave the money back, with amounts reportedly ranging from £400 to £630.
In response to the accusations, a Ryanair spokesperson said: "Ryanair flights that operate as scheduled are non-refundable – this is clearly outlined in Ryanair’s T&Cs agreed by the customer at the time of booking."
The individuals MSE spoke to are said to have received their original refunds from their credit card company via the chargeback process after they claimed to have been refused refunds by Ryanair.
The cases refer to summer 2020 flights that went ahead as scheduled, but where the individuals opted not to fly due to government warnings against non-essential travel.
The three passengers then booked holidays for summer 2021 "without any problems" but later found that when they tried to check in or make a change to their reservation, Ryanair tried to seek the chargeback monies before allowing them to travel, according to MSE.
The carrier’s terms and conditions state: "We may refuse to carry you or your baggage on any flights operated by an airline of the Ryanair Group, if... you owe us any money in respect of a previous flight owing to payment having been dishonoured, denied or recharged against us."
Guy Anker, MSE deputy editor, said the move was "outrageous" from Ryanair, and the carrier has "used up any sympathy" it may have garnered given it incurred the costs of the original flights "by the way it’s treated holidaymakers afterwards". "The concern is this could happen again, so if you’ve made a chargeback against Ryanair then think twice before booking with it again," he added.
The case has reportedly been flagged to the Civil Aviation Authority.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "The many millions of Ryanair customers whose flights were cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic and who applied directly to Ryanair for refunds, which they received directly from Ryanair, will be completely unaffected by these measures.
"There is a tiny minority of passengers (less than 1,000) who purchased non-refundable tickets on Ryanair flights which operated as scheduled during Covid-19 but who chose not to travel and then unlawfully processed chargebacks via their credit card company.
"These few passengers will be required to settle their outstanding debt before they will be allowed to fly with Ryanair again.
"This regretted restriction applies to only a tiny fraction of Ryanair’s 150 million passengers annually who chose to unlawfully break their booking agreements with us."
