Ryanair passengers will now have 48 hours to make changes to bookings for free after the airline announced a series of “customer care improvements”.

Customers currently have a 24-hour grace period to correct any minor errors – for example, a misspelled name – free of charge, but this is being doubled.

Ryanair’s fees in this area can be hefty – for example, its name change fee is £115 per passenger, rising to £160 at the airport.

Ryanair has also launched a £199/€199 annual frequent flyer programme called Ryanair Choice offering “free seats, fast-track and priority boarding”.

EU261 is the EU directive that obliges airlines to pay compensation for flight delays of more than three hours, and Ryanair announced a customer care charter whereby it says claims will be processed “in 10 days”, with new 24/7 support.