Ryanair
Boarding refused due to broken arm

My wife and I have just been refused boarding East Midlands to Nantes FR1634 as she has one arm in plaster. Apparently she needs a doctor's note before she can fly. No one at the check-in or customer service desk could tell us why, including a supervisor who was all of 12. They said it was a rule as it is 'on our web site' and was for 'Health and safety'. They said that we could not have a refund and would have to pay to book onto a two-day later flight.

The irony is that my wife actually broke her other arm a couple of years ago while we were away and we travelled back Ryanair from Tampere to Stansted in exactly the same conditions with no problem.

I have now looked at their site. It is not mentioned in the terms and conditions, but is in a 'tips' section. I am now down the cost of flights, parking and two all-inclusive tickets in Nantes, plus I'm having to fork out for the replacement flight.

We spoke to another airline who said providing the cast has been on for 48 hours no problem. We have booked with them to Paris instead. They also said (but this is of course heresay) that Ryanair staff are incentivised to bump people off flights in order to make them pay for a later flight.

I travel a lot for business and have been a staunch supporter of Ryanair and the low-cost airlines. I think they have done a great job breaking the mould, but I now think that this particular company have gone too far. They are now aggressive in their relationship with their customers and I don't like that - not when I'm paying. I am never ever going to buy anything from Ryanair.

Company: Ryanair
Country: United Kingdom
Region: United Kingdom

  <     >