A diabetic woman says she was abandoned at an airport in Alicante after Ryanair said she wasn't allowed on the plane home because her hand luggage was 'too big'.
Teresa Bruce spent a five-day trip in Benidorm after travelling from Prestwick Airport. While queueing up for her flight home, she was approached by a Ryanair staff member who claimed her hand luggage was too big to take on board.
The 63-year-old was then told she would need to fork out 69 euros for the suitcase to be placed in hold, even though she travelled with the same case just a few days earlier. The Asda employee from Irvine, Scotland, said she couldn't afford to pay the fee after spending all her cash during the holiday.
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She told the Daily Record: "We were at the gate queuing for priority when a woman came up to me and told me to go with her and bring my suitcase.
"I went with her and she told me my suitcase was too big to go on the plane. I said 'how can it not come on the plane? I travelled here with it'. She told me I would have to pay €69 but it was the end of my holiday and I didn't have any money left.
"I couldn't understand why I needed to pay for the case when I had flown over from Prestwick with it just five days before."
It was vital that Teresa made it home that day because she needed to take medication to treat her Type 2 diabetes. Instead, she was forced to sleep in the airport in what she described as a 'frightening experience'.
"I need to take a jag every Thursday for my Type 2 diabetes and I didn't take it with me as it needs to be refrigerated. I was expecting to get home that day," she continued.
"I asked to speak to a supervisor and said I was diabetic and had to get home for my medication. She said no and if I wanted to speak to anyone about it I would have to go back out through security to find someone, but by that point, my flight would have already left."
Teresa's friend was forced to step in and lend her the cash to pay the baggage fee via bank transfer. However, Ryanair staff at the airport claimed it was too late.
"My friend then messaged me to say she had transferred me the money to pay. I told them and they said I was too late and I couldn't board as the flight was closed," she continued. "There were people still waiting to go on the stairs to get to the plane. If someone was running late they would have called out after that point and let them board.
"The flight attendant was determined I wasn't getting on that plane."
She added: "It was scary and I was frightened to shut my eyes in the airport as I didn't know who was going to be about and I was alone. I tried to find somewhere in the airport safe and I dozed on and off on the seats.
"To think Ryanair left a female in a foreign country on her own is absolutely shocking." Teresa was then forced to pay for a flight to Edinburgh the following night because no direct flights to Prestwick were available for another three days.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “This passenger’s cabin bag exceeded the dimensions permitted for her flight from Alicante to Prestwick (26 May). As per Ryanair’s T&Cs which were accepted by the passenger at the time of booking, oversized cabin baggage must be placed in the hold of the aircraft for a standard fee.
"This passenger initially refused to pay the charge, but later changed her mind and returned to the gate, however boarding for the flight had subsequently closed, and the passenger missed her flight.”
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