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Wrong Country….
Humaira and Farooq Shaikh realized something was wrong when they received a text saying ‘Welcome to Greece’. They were both due to fly to Seville in Spain on October 4 this year for a holiday.
Apparently at the time the airline flew them to the wrong country and refused to apologise for the inconvenience. In fact the airline was reported to blame the couple for the entire incident and said “it’s each customer’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.”
The issue also raises important questions about security – as the pair boarded and departed a flight they were never meant to be on in the first place.
Humaira and Farooq turned up at Stansted airport, checked in, going through pre-flight checks at the boarding gate and again once they were on the plane – including their boarding passes being checked.
It wasn’t until they landed in Zakynthos and after receiving a message on their phone “welcome to Greece” that they thought something was wrong. Getting into a taxi as well the driver explained to them that “this isn’t Spain”.
What made it even worse for the couple the airline told them that there would be no flights back to Britian for at least four days.
The airline refused to pay their expenses for the full four days the couple had to spend on Zakynthos, saying it would cater for just one night in a hotel.
Humaira states “They would only pay for one night’s accommodation, so we had to pay for another three.”
Incredibly, their problems still weren’t over because when they attempted to fly back to the UK their names were nowhere in the Ryanair system. The only reason they could make it onto the plane to get home was because a staff member recognized them from their initial trip.
As reported in the https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/
Completely outraged and shocked”
Their son is £1,100 worse off now after having to pay for his parents’ three hotel room nights and of course all the prepaid activities that they were to have enjoyed in Spain.
He told reporters “I am completely outraged and shocked that this has been allowed to happen.
“Not only is this a complete lack of safety, security and responsibility, but it has triggered severe strain and anxiety on my parents,” he added.
“My mum already suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and receiving her calls to me crying on the phone from Greece, whilst at work, was extremely distressing to hear.”
Meanwhile, Ryanair has laid the blame for the entire debacle on the couple themselves- not their employees, who allowed them to board the wrong plane.
An email to the couple from the company states “All of the Ryanair bag drop desks in the departure area are clearly identified. The screens above them display the flight number and destination.
“Each customer’s boarding card clearly states their flight number and destination. Customers are also advised to check the airport information screens for the boarding gate number.
“It is the responsibility of every passenger to ensure that they follow the correct procedures and take note of the information available to them.”
A spokesperson for Ryanair further stated “It is each customer’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.
“As these passengers passed through security control pre-boarding there was no security risk. We are working with our handling agents in London Stansted to ensure that this error doesn’t reoccur.”
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source:- https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/
