The couple, aged 82 and 93, arrived at Faro Airport, on 2 October this year, at 8:15 am, with Special Assistance required to board the Ryanair plane at 10:15 am, bound for East Midlands, UK. However, the wait was long and when the time came to finally board the lift did not arrive in time.

“At 9:45 I started to get uneasy. I asked the My Way girl when the lift would come. She said not to worry as it would be soon. She said the captain knew we were coming. At about 20 past, they put us on the lift, deposited some extra passengers to Birmingham. Then the girl said, "Sorry, the Captain doesn't want to come back." Then the plane took off leaving us stranded”, the couple told The Portugal News.

The couple regret the way they were treated, as they had to wait 12 hours until the next plane in uncomfortable conditions. During this period, the couple with special needs managed to speak to the Ryanair desk and after explaining the entire situation they were able to return to East Midland on the 9:00pm flight. However, the couple is still very disappointed and has demanded compensation that has never come.

Over these 12 hours, the situation became increasingly painful for the couple, who sought to ask for help. “I said to the Ryanair girl: my 93-year-old wife cannot possibly sit on these uncomfortable metal chairs for 12 hours, could we go to a hotel for the interim period? “Yes”, she said, “but I can’t book it”. Then they went to the nearest hotel on their own, but the hotel was full and they had to return.

Only 22 hours later they were able to return to England. “Ryanair had kindly arranged a taxi to take us home from EMA to home in Alfreton, but we didn’t get home until 1am the following morning. This meant a 22 hour ordeal for my 93-year-old wife,” the passenger said in a complaint he forward to Ryanair.

For over a month The Portugal News has tried to speak to all the entities involved in this case. Primarily, Ryanair's Press Office passed the blame to My Way, as it is My Way who is the entity responsible for providing special assistance at Faro airport. However, My Way also declined to provide clarifications saying that it is up to ANA airports to answer all questions in this regard. In addition, The Portugal News tried to contact ANA airports; however, at the time of going to press ANA airports had not provided a response.

Although, it is up to the airport to provide assistance to people with reduced mobility, the couple still blames the airline for what happened. “The Captain must have known we should have been on board, but callously decided to leave us in the lurch”, they concluded.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins