Posted on 02/12/2022 2:08:34 PM PST by nickcarraway
'If you put passengers on the wrong plane to the wrong country, you expect an apology'
A couple are demanding an apology from Ryanair after they claim they were flown to the wrong country.
Simon Forster and Emma Schofield had planned a Christmas break in Denmark but ended up travelling to France by mistake.
Long queues at Manchester Airport on December 17 had left them with little time to sprint to the departure gate, where they said Ryanair staff checked their passports and boarding passes.
Mr Forster claims they were then ushered onto a waiting plane and into their seats as a member of cabin crew told them not to worry about showing their passes again, reports the Manchester Evening News.
It was only when they landed and were greeted with a cheerful "bonjour" at passport control that the couple realised they were in the French city of Beauvais – 750 miles from their intended destination of Copenhagen.
In a statement, Ryanair would not comment on the individual case but said it is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.
There are several "touchpoints" throughout the journey that inform passengers of the aircraft’s destination, including a welcome PA onboard, it added.
But businessman Mr Forster claims he heard no such announcement in English.
“The shock of landing somewhere near Paris when you’re supposed to be going to Copenhagen was ridiculous," he said.
“I would like to understand how on earth this happened."
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The couple are seeking an apology from Ryanair and have asked the airline to reimburse their flights, hotels and taxis.
Mr Forster said the problems began after it took them two hours to get through airport security, leaving them with little time to make it to the gate.
“We got there and three Ryanair staff asked if we were there for Copenhagen", he said.
“We got on [the plane] and there were only about six other passengers, which was not surprising because so many people were missing flights.
“I did show the stewardess my boarding pass and she said 'don't worry about it'. I was dripping in sweat.
“Our seat numbers were free so we sat down.
“We landed in less time than we expected and as we walked into the airport I thought I didn’t recognise it and I go to Copenhagen quite a lot.
“We were greeted at passport control with "Bonjour" and it became apparent that we were in France.”
After discovering they had landed in Beauvais, the couple took a cab to Paris and booked into a hotel near the Eiffel Tower.
Mr Forster contacted Ryanair in the morning to ask for a reimbursement and was told to fill in an online complaint form.
He and Ms Schofield stayed in France for the weekend and booked flights home to the UK with Easyjet.
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In all, the couple spent more than £930 on the original flights to Copenhagen and a hotel in the Danish city that they were unable to use, plus the taxi from Beauvais, a night in a Paris hotel and return flights.
“After spending hours calling Ryanair and filling in online forms, my complaint is showing as ’solved’,” he said.
“It really was a s*** show.
“Just the fact we tried to show our boarding passes and were told ‘don’t worry about it’, You wouldn’t think that could happen these days.
“If you put passengers on the wrong plane to the wrong country, you expect an apology.”
Isn’t Ryanair the UK version of Spirit Airlines?
I don’t know. Copenhagen vs. Paris for Christmas?
I don’t know, Paris doesn’t sound half bad...
“Long queues at Manchester Airport on December 17 had left them with little time to sprint to the departure gate, where they said Ryanair staff checked their passports and boarding passes.
Mr Forster claims they were then ushered onto a waiting plane and into their seats as a member of cabin crew told them not to worry about showing their passes again”
So they screwed up and boarded the wrong plane and want to blame someone else.
Yeah story doesn’t add up. Why would the airline wait until you were seated before checking your tickets
“I would like to understand how on earth this happened.”
My guess is the you didn’t read the destination on the monitor at the gate, didn’t ask the boarding agent where the plane was going, didn’t listen to the announcements on the plane saying it was going to France, and didn’t notice half the passengers were speaking French.
But, no, your stupidity is the airlines fault.
How many times have all of us heard the announcements on planes saying “This plane is going to XYZ. If you don’t want to go to XYZ, you better get off now.”?
A few years ago, a guy I know moved from Seattle to Nampa, Idaho. However, there was a screw-up, and the moving company shipped his furniture to Tampa, Florida. True story.
I remember a couple in the 80s was taking a short hope to Oakland, CA, and accidentally ended up on a flight to Auckland, New Zealand.
Hey, at least they didn’t deplane at Karzai Int’l in Baghdad . . .
They do look pretty stupid.
If you ever changed planes in Heathrow, you would understand.
Nobody, even the info people, know what’s going on there!
We almost made it to Kuwait due to similar situation.
This type of thing happened to me once a long time ago. Connecting through O’hare late at night. Accidentally went to the wrong gate, just waved the boarding pass and got on the plane. Being late I just immediately tried to doze and missed the “If this is not your destination...” speech. Wound up in a different state. Had to catch a superearly flight the next day.
But you have already paid for the hotel in Copenhagen. No refunds.
I don’t have any opinion on whose fault it was. I do have an opinion on whether this was sufficiently newsworthy to justify international media coverage
Ireland.
Happens all the time.
Happened to me twice. Both times my bad. Well, there was a female involved.
Nevermind.
5.56mm
Good friend of mine was moving from Portland, Oregon back to Omaha for his job. Company paid for a moving company and their semi. Somewhere in Montana, the driver and their dispatcher had an argument about the driver’s per diem reimbursement he had submitted prior to the Omaha trip. He turned around and drove the semi back to Portland. He and his wife and two kids slept in sleeping bags for about a week. They had all brought some clothing with them but the bulk was on the truck.
The company also paid to have one of their cars shipped but he didn’t realize that the transport company would wait until they had a full load before bringing it to him. Only had one car for two months.
Ryanair: Sorry ‘bout your luck, bub.
Returning to SFO from LA. caught an earlier flight after a 24 hour surveillance. Dry tired. Faced with two gates walked through wrong one. Flight was going to Cleveland. Michael fox was departing on the flight and there was a large send off at the gate. My partner and I settled in when told to come to front of plane. We were shown to the gate across the runway. More than likely no one would have known were it not for our tickets showing we were armed. This was long before TSA.
I have a friend that works for Delta in Melbourne ,FL-you can see where this is going-short of it-the older lady was flying from somewhere in Europe, didn’t speak English, and all along the way, nobody bothered to check the country of destination.
There wasn’t much he could do but help her get a local place to stay and someone who spoke her language. Not sure whether or not Delta helped her in the end.
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