People who have been hit by cancelled flights have three options open to them.
Consumer journalist and host of The Home Show Sinead Ryan was speaking after a man - whose wife and daughter took a trip to London - had their return flight cancelled.
While a re-booked flight did not suit, as it was on a Monday night.
This meant they re-booked their own flights, but were out of pocket for these after being told the cancelled flight was due to extraordinary circumstances.
Sinead told Lunchtime Live your rights are very strong.
"When a flight is cancelled, and this applies to any flight cancelled within seven days... the airline is obliged to re-route you immediately to the next available flight, allow you to re-book on a later flight, or refund you the ticket.
"They're your three options."
Sinead says taking a refund means other rights are forfeited.
"If you're wife and daughter had stayed in London, the airline would have been obliged to put them up in a hotel, pay for their accomodation, pay for their transport to another airport or another airline if necessary and get them home.
"But because that rescheduled flight didn't suit on the Monday - and I can understand why that would be - those refunds and that compensation no longer applies.
"There is a separate compensation under EU261 that allows passengers who are cancelled, at very short notice, to receive €250 - essentially for disruption."
She said the claim of 'extraordinary circumstances' can be a grey area.
"Do you remember the ash cloud back in 2010? EU legislation was strengthened around that time, to ensure that airlines paid compensation - unless there was something that fell under this extraordinary circumstances.
"That is a grey area, and... that is where I would be pushing rights.
"The refund for the flight you've taken, you have that and that bit is now closed.
"But in terms of the other expenses that you had - and indeed that €250 per passenger - I would be pushing that.
"I would be filling out the forms from the Aviation Regulator - flightrights.ie - and letting them make the decision.
"It takes four to six weeks, you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying", she added.
More information can be found on flightrights.ie
