Platts said the airline's argument amounted to a restriction or limit on its obligation to pay and thus went against article 15 of the EU flight delay regulations. Under a previous Supreme Court judgment, passengers were allowed six years to make their claim. Northwestern firm Bott & Co, which brought the claim, has represented other claimants in recent years who have been seeking compensation for delays. The firm said the ruling stands to affect 2.66m customers of Ryanair alone, with £610m due to be paid in compensation. Kevin Clarke, who acted for the claimants, said: 'The Supreme Court decision last year said passengers have six years to bring a claim. That is a definitive, binding, clear judgment from the highest court in England and Wales. 'This should have concluded matters but unfortunately Ryanair have been able to tweak the argument; we found ourselves running a complicated court case arguing the fine points of contract law.'