A mum with disabilities has told of how she had to watch the Ryanair plane she was meant to be on take as she sat yards away from the gate.
Margaret Harrop was supposed to be on her way to her son in Spain with her husband John but was not able to board the plane because she was still in the special assistance vehicle.
The couple said they had arrived at the gate early at Newcastle Airport after ensuring they were there well in advance of their flight.
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They got to the airport at 8.20 am, checked in their suitcases and headed through security without a problem. They then went to special assistance and were told to be at Gate 19 at 10:00 am, and said they even arrived 20 minutes before that.
It would have been Margaret's first time over to visit her son Keith - who moved to Costa Blanca in July 2020.
The retired couple's plans were hampered when the 11:00 am Ryanair flight FR4080 on Wednesday, September 28, left when they were still waiting to be helped onto the plane, Chronicle Live reports.
They were among seven people who watched the plane move onto the runway and take off without them from a special assistance lift "10 or 20 yards" from the plane.
The couple also claim that they saw their luggage being removed from the aircraft ahead of its take-off.
Ryanair put it down to special assistance providers' failure to "fulfil their responsibility to these passengers causing them to miss their flight".
John said: "We got one of these shuttle lifts that raise you up and puts you in the plane if you're disabled, and we could see people getting onto the other side of the plane. We couldn't see their faces, but then we started to see one or two bags being taken off and Margaret said to me, 'that's our bag.' I said it can't be.
"We were standing there for about 25 minutes and then all of a sudden, the plane started to move and Margaret said that plane's moving, and I said, of course, it wasn't we're not on it yet! But it was."
"The bloke in charge of the shuttle was mumbling and he said there's been an issue, but he wouldn't say anymore."
Margaret and John were then brought back to the terminal, and had to wait for "an hour, maybe more," as airport staff held "a meeting."
After apologising, the seven passengers were offered places on the Jet2.com flight at 6:00 am the next morning, which had eight vacancies. John and Margaret were also offered a stay in a hotel at the airport - which the other five guests chose - or a taxi home and back for the flight the following morning.
Margaret, 76, said: "It was a bit of a nightmare, we don't really know whose fault it was because we never got to know. We still don't know the full story.
"I knew my son and his partner were over there waiting for us, it's a while since we've seen them so it was very disappointing, especially having to come back to the horrible weather on Wednesday afternoon. It was so, so annoying and we were disappointed not only because we didn't get there on Wednesday, but because nobody informed us about anything.
"All my medication was in the case and I didn't know whether it was on the plane or not - I've got it now, but nobody told us anything. We were there in loads of time, everybody was. We were just sitting in the departure lounge until they came for us - it wasn't any of our fault because we were already there.
"It just shouldn't have happened, if it'd been the other way and I had been able to just been able to walk up the stairs, I would have been on my holidays."
Margaret's son Keith, said: "Luckily they haven't got a hotel booked, they're just staying with us. So they're not losing any money, but it was upsetting for them.
"I was really annoyed just by the way they were treated. My mam has bad mobility with her legs, high blood pressure and a few medical conditions, stress is the last thing she needs."
A spokesperson from Newcastle Airport said: "Following an investigation, we can confirm that seven passengers that were assisted with their journey through the airport were unable to travel. The passengers arrived at the aircraft in advance of the scheduled departure time but were not permitted to board the aircraft.
"Newcastle Airport assisted all customers affected by ensuring they departed on the next available flight."
A spokesperson from Ryanair said: "Special assistance at Newcastle Airport is provided by a third party – not by Ryanair. We are disappointed that the third party provider at Newcastle Airport failed to fulfil their responsibility to these passengers causing them to miss their flight."
Ryanair declined to answer the Chronicle's enquiries on why the plane did not wait for those on the special assistance vehicle and why Mr and Mrs Harrop's luggage was removed from the plane.
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