Airline charges elderly couple over Rs. 11,000 for ticket printout
What's the story
An elderly couple, Ruth and Peter Jaffe, faced a £110 (roughly Rs. 11,600) charge from Ryanair for mistakenly printing the wrong boarding passes. Although the couple had already checked in and paid extra to sit together, they accidentally downloaded their return boarding pass instead of the outgoing one. Ryanair charged them a hefty fee for printing the correct passes, drawing the ire of netizens.
Details
The couple was not seated together
According to the daughter, her mother made a mistake while trying to check in and was informed that she wouldn't be seated next to her disabled husband unless she paid extra. Consequently, she attempted to pay extra but was checked in for the return flight only. Despite paying £110 for two pieces of paper, the couple ended up sitting separately.
Twitter Post
Daughter detailed the incident on X
Hey @Ryanair, my parents who are in their 70s and 80s, had accidentally downloaded the return flight boarding card instead of the outgoing ones and you charged them £110 to print them at the airport. £110 for 2 pieces of paper which took 1 minute. Shame on you
— Old School House Venosc 💙 (@old_school_alps) August 13, 2023
What Next?
Ryanair defended their decision
The incident occurred on their way from Stansted Airport to Bergerac, France. The daughter's tweet detailing the incident went viral, with many users expressing their frustration. Many advised others to avoid using the airline, while some pointed out that the cheapest airline could eventually cost more. Ryanair defended their decision, stating that the couple failed to check in despite being advised to do so.
Twitter Post
A user called Ryanair 'flying bus' with 'plastic seats'
I was on Ryan air yesterday. Literally a flying bus with slippery plastic seats. The cabin was filthy from the previous flight and they hadn't cleaned it. The pilot made the hardest landing I've experienced for years.
— ictplus (@Rocket_RTW) August 14, 2023
Yes, I travelled Ryan Air 5 years ago and it was the same and…
Twitter Post
Another user shared a similar experience
Another time, we couldn’t find our printed boarding passes when we got to the airport, and though they agreed that they had all our details that we were booked to get on the flight, they charged us about £180 to issue new boarding passes. There was nearly a divorce when we found…
— Patsy Brennan 💜🤍💚 (@HonsCupboard) August 13, 2023