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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Marita Moloney & Beth Abbit

Ryanair fly couple 'to the wrong country 1,200 kilometres away' as romantic trip has turbulent start

One couple's romantic getaway was hit by turbulence after they ended up in the wrong destination after their plane landed.

The couple are demanding an apology from Ryanair after they claim they were flown to the wrong city and ended up in Paris rather than Copenhagen.

The pair ended up on the wrong plane following a mad dash through the airport after they were delayed by "horrendous queues".

Simon Forster and Emma Schofield were departing Manchester Airport for the Danish capital before Christmas.

The couple said Ryanair staff checked their passports and boarding passes at the departure gate, as the Manchester Evening News reports.

Ushered down some stairs, they made their way to "the only waiting plane on the runway" and boarded.

Simon claimed they tried to show their boarding passes to a member of the cabin crew who he claims said “oh don’t worry about it” and asked them to take their seats.

They say it was only when they landed and were greeted with a cheerful "bonjour" at passport control that the couple realised they were in Beauvais in France.

The airport outside Paris is some 1,200 kilometres from their intended destination.

Ryanair say it is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft and there are several 'touchpoints' throughout the passenger journey which inform passengers of the aircraft’s destination - including a welcome PA on board.

But Simon 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 told the news outlet.

“I would like to understand how on earth this happened."

Simon says he contacted Ryanair the morning after landing in France - December 18 - and asked to be reimbursed for his flights and hotel in Copenhagen and given tickets home.

He says he was told to fill in an online complaint form - which he did on December 21.

The couple stayed in France for the weekend and booked flights home to the UK with Easyjet.

“We had a lovely weekend and on the way back we kept getting messages from Ryanair about the return Copenhagen flight being delayed," he said.

Since returning home, Simon says he has tried to speak to Ryanair several times to complain and to seek reimbursement of his flights and the costs incurred.

However, he said he has had trouble getting through to someone about the matter.

The queues at the airport that night. (Simon Forster)

He is seeking an apology as well as a reimbursement of €1,100 for his expenses in Paris.

Ryanair did not provide a comment when approached by the Manchester Evening News, but for background stated: "It is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.

"There are several touchpoints throughout the passenger journey which inform passengers of the aircraft’s destination, these include:

"Flight number and destination are clearly printed on the passenger’s boarding card

"Flight number and destination are displayed at the gate

"Flight number and destination are called out in the standard boarding PA

"Flight number and destination are mentioned in the welcome PA on board."

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