An Edinburgh man has vowed never to fly with Ryanair again after losing out on a five-day holiday to Budapest with his flight being cancelled an hour before its scheduled departure.
James Cruickshank was reportedly left with no options and no way of seeking advice after his flight was cancelled at short notice on Sunday, July 10, from Edinburgh Airport.
The 46-year-old cabbie, from Craiglockhart, said that it was a rare chance for him to take some time off work to get away on a well-earned break - his first in over a year. With trying to balance his day job while studying a chef's degree at college, James was more than looking forward to his city break alongside his friend.
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After making it through security in just 12 minutes, everything went south. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, James said: "My main issue with the whole situation is that nobody was around to help us after the flight got cancelled.
"We arrived at the airport a few hours before the flight as I always do and because of the ongoing issues. We made it through security in just 12 minutes, so it was going well, but then exactly an hour before the flight was due to leave at 3pm, it came up on the board that it had been cancelled.
"From then, nobody was around to offer advice on booking the next flight or to offer an alternative. At 20 past two, we got an email from Ryanair confirming the cancellation, but again, there was nothing on the email that offered an alternative or a contact for someone to help. Staff with Ryanair uniform on told us that they actually work for Swissport and they couldn't help. They just said to try the app, which we were doing right in front of them, but it wasn't working.
"We tried calling customer services as well, but nobody picked up. We then went from airside back downstairs to try and find a Ryanair desk or someone associated with the company to help, but there was just nobody. I was even telling the staff upstairs that I wanted to speak to their superior if they couldn't help, but it was like they were trained to not answer your questions.
"It was absolutely shambolic. The one guy that actually tried to offer some help was Spanish and had been flown in from Hampstead specifically to help out. He tried his best to find alternative routes, but they are all connection flights and it would have taken 16 hours to get to Budapest, as well as paying the difference ourselves."
While James and his friend Alan were becoming more and more agitated by the situation, they still couldn't find a solution and ended up returning home after a five hour stint in the airport.
Since returning, both have filed for a refund for the flight and have contacted a compensation specialist online. James said that his whole holiday was paid for and he has no idea when or if they will be able to book it again.
He continued: "The way we were treated was awful, I'll never be flying with Ryanair again.
"The holiday was a five night getaway with booking.com and the return flight was supposed to be with Whizz Air. Including the excursions we booked, we have both been left heavily out of pocked."
James said that as he works four days in, four days off, he's even ended up losing out on a day's work as he hires his taxi. He added that they would even have been up for travelling to a different city if it meant they could still get a holiday.
A spokesperson for Ryanair commented: "Mr. McFarlane’s flight refund has been processed and a member of our Customer Service team has contacted him directly to assist him with his compensation claim."
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