It comes after Manchester County Court ruled on Friday that the budget carrier could not impose a two-year limit on passengers trying to claim for flight delay compensation.

Law firm Bott & Co, who represented the two passengers in the case, said the decision could benefit around 2.6 million Ryanair customers, and cost the airline some £610 million in compensation, the Financial Times reported.

The move followed a Supreme Court ruling last year, which stated that air travellers in England and Wales had six years to bring a claim to court.

The test case in Manchester against Ryanair involved two passengers who had sought flight delay compensation, more than five years after their flight.

Ryanair had argued that the passengers had accepted the airline’s terms and conditions, and passengers had their right to claim after two years.

It has now said that it will appeal against the decision, labelling it unnecessary and unreasonable. It also estimates it potential liability from the ruling to be less than €5 million.

Kevin Clarke, flight delay lawyer at Bott & Co, said: “We’re delighted that the court has dismissed yet another argument put forward by the airlines to restrict passenger rights.”

No other airlines are running the two-year limitation argument, however Bott & Co said the majority had a similar clause in their terms and conditions. If Ryanair had won the case, other airlines could have followed by putting a two-year cap on claims.

The CAA issued a penalty against Jet 2 and Wizz Air for applying a two-year limit on claims earlier this year.