Passengers have faced chaos in recent weeks, with flights cancelled and long queues at airports. Difficulty in coping with a rise in demand since the removal of Covid restrictions, and a lack of staff, has seen many airlines struggling to cope in recent months.
This has been particularly evident during busy travel periods, such as the Easter holidays, as well as bank holiday weekends. British Airways and easyJet are just two airlines who have been hit particularly bad by staff issues.
Another company who has reportedly had issues is Ryanair. One woman has slammed Ryanair after her seats were allocated to someone else - even though they had been paid for. Ryanair said the problem was because the woman had booked with On the Beach travel company rather than directly with the airline.
Sue Graham went on holiday in Benidorm with husband Eric, and step-daughter Sophie. Their problems began as they were about to embark on their return flight to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
"On getting to Alicante airport for our flight home we were told by the Ryanair attendant our seats had been cancelled and it would cost us another 30 Euros each to get on the flight we had already paid for," explained Sue. "When I told the attendant we had no money I was told, 'It's not my problem,' either pay a further 30 Euros each or sort yourself out. I suffer with depression and anxiety so can you imagine my state of mind thinking we were going to be abandoned at the airport."
According to the Liverpool Echo, Sue said they only managed to secure their seats after husband Eric used money earmarked to pay his Sky bill to cough up the cash demanded by Ryanair.
She added: "I'm disgusted. I have been informed of this happening to other travellers due to the airline over selling seats. If someone gets there before you,they will sell them your seats."
Sue also claimed her husband was charged another 46 Euros after his hand luggage - which he had taken with him on the flight out without a problem - was turned back at the boarding gate and he had to pay for it to go in hold, or else leave it behind.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "This is a prime example of the issues faced when customers book flights through OTAs (online travel agents) and not directly with the airline.
"Ryanair did not cancel the seats in Ms. Graham’s booking. Ms. Graham was charged a standard airport check-in fee of €90 (€30 per passenger) as she failed to check-in online two hours prior to the scheduled departure time. Ryanair urges customers to always book directly, as OTAs may provide Ryanair with incorrect email addresses, contact & payment details, which block Ryanair from communicating directly with the customer to share essential flight information and updates, including check-in prompts, potential departure time changes, delays, cancellations, and refund updates.
"To protect our customers, Ryanair has developed the Verified Seal and Price Checker to guarantee customers that they are booking directly with Ryanair. However, to avoid unnecessary complications, Ryanair advises customers to always book directly on the official Ryanair website/app.”
A spokesperson from On the Beach said: “We were very concerned to hear about the Graham family being charged €90 to check in and a further €46 for baggage by Ryanair. It is outrageous of Ryanair to make these false allegations and to seek to put the blame on us for their excessive fees, and for the way they have treated the Graham family.
"We make it easy for customers to book their package holiday online, protected by ATOL and the Package Travel Regulations – something that cannot be offered when booking flights alone and something that Ryanair doesn’t offer when selling flights. We communicate directly with our customers about all of the elements their package holiday and always make sure that our customers receive information and updates about their flight, including online check-in requirements. Our customers can also see all their holiday information in their personalised log-in section of our website.”
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