Business article in The Guardian
Airline passengers have had too much of a good thing over delay payouts
Take, for example, a colleague recently back from the Costa Dorada this summer. His Ryanair flight from Barcelona to London was delayed for more than three hours. He has since obtained €1,000 (£853) compensation for himself, wife and two children. How much did he pay for those flights? Less than £400. He feels like he has been given a free holiday.
https://www.theguardian.com/business...1-compensation
This sums up what many have said in this thread, although it does not mention the data claim that has been mentioned here - that the fines have not made any significant difference to the amount of delays. That seems to be due to the complexity of the air space.