A woman has slammed Ryanair after her seats were reportedly allocated to someone else - even though she claims they had been paid for.
Sue Graham went on holiday to Benidorm with her husband Eric and step-daughter Sophie. Their problems began as they were about to embark on their return flight to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Ryanair has since responded claiming the issue occurred because the woman had booked with On the Beach travel company rather than directly with the airline.
It comes as cancelled flights and long queues have caused chaos for passengers travelling from UK airports over recent weeks. Staffing shortages and increased demand due to the removal of all Covid-19 restrictions have meant airlines have been struggling to cope.
"On getting to Alicante airport for our flight home we were told by the Ryanair attendant our seats had been cancelled and it would cost us another 30 Euros each to get on the flight we had already paid for," explained Sue. "When I told the attendant we had no money I was told 'It's not my problem, either pay a further 30 Euros each or sort yourself out'.
"I suffer with depression and anxiety so can you imagine my state of mind thinking we were going to be abandoned at the airport."
According to the Liverpool Echo, Sue said they only managed to secure their seats after husband Eric used money earmarked to pay his Sky bill to cough up the cash demanded by Ryanair.
She added: "I'm disgusted. I have been informed of this happening to other travellers due to the airline over selling seats. If someone gets there before you, they will sell them your seats."
Sue also claimed her husband was charged another 46 Euros after his hand luggage - which he had taken with him on the flight out without a problem - was turned back at the boarding gate and he had to pay for it to go in hold or else leave it behind.
A spokesman for Ryanair said: "This is a prime example of the issues faced when customers book flights through OTAs (online travel agents) and not directly with the airline.
"Ryanair did not cancel the seats in Ms. Graham’s booking. Ms. Graham was charged a standard airport check-in fee of €90 (€30 per passenger) as she failed to check-in online two hours prior to the scheduled departure time.
"Ryanair urges customers to always book directly, as OTAs may provide Ryanair with incorrect email addresses, contact and payment details, which block Ryanair from communicating directly with the customer to share essential flight information and updates, including check-in prompts, potential departure time changes, delays, cancellations and refund updates.
"To protect our customers, Ryanair has developed the Verified Seal and Price Checker to guarantee customers that they are booking directly with Ryanair. However, to avoid unnecessary complications, Ryanair advises customers to always book directly on the official Ryanair website/app.”
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