A Ryanair passenger was refused to board her flight home because her hand luggage was "too big" - leaving her stranded in Alicante, Spain. Teresa Bruce, who suffers with diabetes, was told by a member of Ryanair staff that she couldn't board the plane due to the size of her hand luggage after returning from a five-day trip in Benidorm with friends.
Despite travelling with the same case just days before on her inbound flight to Spain, Teresa was told she needed to pay £69 to have the suitcase put into the hold. She said: "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."
After spending her cash on her trip, Teresa, said she didn't have enough money left to pay the amount and urgently needed to get home so she could take her medication that day to treat her Type 2 diabetes. However, the ASDA employee was instead forced to sleep in the airport in a "frightening" experience, adding: "I didn't take it with me as it needs to be refrigerated. I was expecting to get home that day, the Daily Record reports.
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"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."
Even though one of Teresa's friends offered help by sending her money for the baggage fee via a bank transfer, the staff working for the flight operator said it was too late.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Teresa said: "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. 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."
Recalling the moment she was escorted through security and was left to sleep in the airport overnight on her own, Teresa said: "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." The Prestwick resident also said she had to rebook a flight to Edinburgh the next night as there were no direct flights to her hometown 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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