Missed Ryanair Flight

Kinhh

Hi All

My daughter and 4 friends are currently on their first holiday (aged 20) to Malta. They got to the airport with 2 hours to spare, went through security, put phones in plastic boxes, and went through to waiting area.

She then realised she didn't have her phone, she looks everywhere. She can see its in the airport and specifically at security. They went and explained the situation, the staff were rude and dismissive. They wouldn't look in the machine for it… stress was mounting, time getting on, after much conversation they agreed to check under the scanner and there it was - it somehow got stuck in the machine. They ran to the gate and were 8 minutes late and RA refused to let them board. They explained the situation, all in tears at this point, but they said no.

They went to the RA desk and again, explained the situation and ended up having to pay another £279 each for flights, from a different airport, at 8 that evening. It was currently 8:00 am! They wanted to get their early as they'd booked a party.

I think this is so unfair, what are your thoughts please? is there a claim here?

Many thanks. Poppy

nannytone_2

she missed her flight. It wasn't Ryan airs fault

eskbanker

I can't see that Ryanair are at fault in any way here, as passenger delays prior to reaching the gate aren't their responsibility, so wouldn't see any viable claim there.

Arguably the airport security team were at least partially culpable, so no harm in complaining to airport management, but realistically she's looking at some sort of ex gratia goodwill gesture rather than having any firm legal footing to support a claim IMHO.

Kinhh

Thank you, I see your point.

Caz3121

As far as Ryanair are concerned they were a no-show for the flight as did not present them onetime at the gate for boarding, Ryanair are known to stick to the rules so buying a new ticket was likely the only option

Whilst they may think this is unfair this is probably an expensive lesson unless possibly her travel insurance will cover the situation

Always best to put small items inside larger items; handbag, coat pocket etc rather than loose in a box (and check you have all your belongings before leaving the security area)

TELLIT01

Why did all 5 have to go back to security when she already knew roughly where it was? I appreciate it was their first holiday and they probably wanted to stick together, but it's an expensive lesson learnt.

GDB2222

Surely, any claim is against the airport, not Ryanair? It's a foreseeable consequence of leaving customers' gear in the scanner that the customer may miss their flight. So, I think the airport is liable. I'm sure they have disclaimers, but I doubt they are valid against an ordinary consumer.

Whether you can claim 5x £279 seems highly doubtful. But 1 x £279, yes I'd expect you to win.

Aylesbury_Duck

I don't see what's unfair here. Ryanair have done what's normal for someone missing their flight, so they haven't acted unfairly. As for security, accidents happen and while there's no excuse for their rudeness, it doesn't sound like rudeness was the reason for missing the flight.

Probably would have been sensible for someone to volunteer to stay with your daughter while the rest travelled. It would at least have limited the costs of the new flights.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041110#Comment_82041110

Not sure there's enough to go on regarding assigning liability and clearly at least some rests with the passenger for not collecting the phone initially - I think much will depend on exactly what happened, in terms of specifically where the phone ended up and how it got there (struggling to understand how something gets 'stuck in the machine'), plus timescales, so if, for example, there was an animated discussion with security for an hour and a half then that's far less acceptable than if, say, the party went back to security shortly before boarding time.

ellenvan

If at least one person has got to the gate on time, they could have explained the delay to gate staff. Far more likely to have waited a few minutes then.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041110#Comment_82041110

Airports always advise to put everything inside a bag, and if it falls out of the tray they will definitely argue the customer didnt put it in properly....I agree with you that the claim is against the airport but I would not expect a win....