An 84-year-old disabled woman was left stranded at Hamburg airport after Ryanair departed without her, despite having booked special assistance.
The elderly passenger, who is diabetic, had been visiting her child in Germany and was due to return to the UK.
After check-in, assistance staff pushed her wheelchair to the departure gate and promised to return to help her board once boarding commenced.
However, they never returned, and the Ryanair flight departed without her.
The airline completed boarding and allegedly ignored warnings that a passenger requiring assistance was missing.
The woman was left abandoned at the gate for several hours before her child managed to recover her from security.
The woman's luggage, including her vital diabetic medication, remained on the flight.
Her son had to spend the weekend tracking down her belongings.
Meanwhile, another son had wasted a two-hour journey to Stansted Airport where he had gone to meet her.
The incident resulted in significant additional expenses for the family.
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Her child had to purchase a new ticket and personally accompany her back to the UK.
A hire car was also needed at the destination.
When approached for compensation, Ryanair refused to refund the missed flight or consequent expenses.
The airline stated that special assistance was the responsibility of a third party, not themselves.
Consumer lawyer Gary Rycroft explains the complex responsibility divide.
He told The Guardian: "The airline is only responsible for special assistance whilst you are on the flight."
"It is the airport who are responsible up to you getting on the aircraft and after you disembark, and the airline does not have contractual responsibility to supervise all aspects of it."
This creates a problematic gap in accountability for vulnerable passengers.
Despite booking special assistance through Ryanair, the contract doesn't extend to pre-boarding assistance.
Hamburg Airport further complicated matters, with a spokesman stating: "Hamburg Airport unfortunately has no influence on the coordination between the airline and the service provider."
This jurisdictional complexity leaves passengers with limited recourse when things go wrong.
Those affected by similar situations do have some options for redress.
Passengers can report breaches of EU regulation 1107/2006, which guarantees legal rights to special assistance for disabled travellers.
The failure to remove luggage of a no-show passenger potentially breaches EU regulation 300/2008, which could also be reported to authorities.
The Federal Aviation Office would be the appropriate body to receive such complaints.
However, claiming damages for special assistance failures presents significant challenges.
Seeking compensation for replacement flights and additional expenses would require court action.
This becomes particularly difficult when the incident occurs outside UK jurisdiction, as in this Hamburg case.
GB News has approached Ryanair for comment.
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The elderly passenger, who is diabetic, had been visiting her child in Germany and was due to return to the UK.
After check-in, assistance staff pushed her wheelchair to the departure gate and promised to return to help her board once boarding commenced.
However, they never returned, and the Ryanair flight departed without her.
The airline completed boarding and allegedly ignored warnings that a passenger requiring assistance was missing.
The woman was left abandoned at the gate for several hours before her child managed to recover her from security.
The woman's luggage, including her vital diabetic medication, remained on the flight.
Her son had to spend the weekend tracking down her belongings.
Meanwhile, another son had wasted a two-hour journey to Stansted Airport where he had gone to meet her.
The incident resulted in significant additional expenses for the family.
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Her child had to purchase a new ticket and personally accompany her back to the UK.
A hire car was also needed at the destination.
When approached for compensation, Ryanair refused to refund the missed flight or consequent expenses.
The airline stated that special assistance was the responsibility of a third party, not themselves.
Consumer lawyer Gary Rycroft explains the complex responsibility divide.
He told The Guardian: "The airline is only responsible for special assistance whilst you are on the flight."
"It is the airport who are responsible up to you getting on the aircraft and after you disembark, and the airline does not have contractual responsibility to supervise all aspects of it."
This creates a problematic gap in accountability for vulnerable passengers.
Despite booking special assistance through Ryanair, the contract doesn't extend to pre-boarding assistance.
Hamburg Airport further complicated matters, with a spokesman stating: "Hamburg Airport unfortunately has no influence on the coordination between the airline and the service provider."
This jurisdictional complexity leaves passengers with limited recourse when things go wrong.
Those affected by similar situations do have some options for redress.
Passengers can report breaches of EU regulation 1107/2006, which guarantees legal rights to special assistance for disabled travellers.
The failure to remove luggage of a no-show passenger potentially breaches EU regulation 300/2008, which could also be reported to authorities.
The Federal Aviation Office would be the appropriate body to receive such complaints.
However, claiming damages for special assistance failures presents significant challenges.
Seeking compensation for replacement flights and additional expenses would require court action.
This becomes particularly difficult when the incident occurs outside UK jurisdiction, as in this Hamburg case.
GB News has approached Ryanair for comment.
Find Out More...