A furious couple are demanding an apology and compensation from Ryanair after they claim they were flown to the wrong country.
In a bizarre situation that mirrors the plot of Home Alone 2, Simon Forster and Emma Schofield - who had planned a trip to Copenhagen - were left puzzled when they landed in Paris just days before Christmas.
Simon and Emma were in Manchester Airport when they were ushered down some stairs and made their way to the only waiting plane on the runway, MEN Reports.
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Simon said the couple tried to show their boarding passes to a member of the cabin crew who he claims said “oh don’t worry about it” and asked them to take their seats.
It was only when they landed and were greeted with a cheerful "bonjour" at passport control that the couple realised they were in the French city of Beauvais - 750 miles from their intended destination.
Ryanair say it is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft and there are several 'touchpoints' throughout the passenger journey which inform passengers of the aircraft’s destination - including a welcome PA on board.
But Simon, who runs Leeds-based Robot Food, says he heard no such announcement in English.
He said: “The queue for security was absolutely enormous and we were all crammed in like cattle. It seemed as though we were going to miss our flight.
"When we got past we got out into the airport and there was a last call for Copenhagen. It was already past the departure time so we just legged it to the gate.
"We got there and three Ryanair staff asked if we were there for Copenhagen."
Emma and Simon showed staff their passports and boarding passes and were ushered down some stairs.
Simon said: "We got on and there were only about six other passengers, which was not surprising because so many people were missing flights.
"I did show the stewardess my boarding pass and she said 'oh, don't worry about it'.
"Our seat numbers were free so we sat down.
"We landed in less time than we expected and as we walked into the airport I thought I didn’t recognise it and I go to Copenhagen quite a lot.
"We were greeted at passport control with "Bonjour" and it became apparent that we were in France."
After organising a hotel for the night, Simon contacted Ryanair the next morning and asked to be reimbursed for the flights and hotel in Copenhagen and given tickets home.
He was told to fill in an online complaint form - which he did on December 21.
The couple stayed in France for the weekend and booked flights home to the UK with Easyjet.
Simon says he spent €1,108 on the original flights to Copenhagen and a hotel in the Danish city, a taxi from Beauvais, a night in a Paris hotel and return flights from France to the UK.
He added: "After spending hours calling Ryanair and filling in online forms, my complaint is showing as ’solved’.
“I was told on Monday that I would be contacted in three days. Today (Friday) I called again and someone hung up on me.”
Simon's colleagues have joked that the scenario was like the plot of the film Home Alone 2: Lost In New York - in which lead character Kevin McCallister ends up separated from his family on a flight to the Big Apple.
He said: "Just the fact we tried to show our boarding passes and were told ‘don’t worry about it’, You wouldn’t think that could happen these days.
"If you put passengers on the wrong plane to the wrong country, you expect an apology."
Ryanair did not provide a comment, but for background stated: "It is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.
"There are several touchpoints throughout the passenger journey which inform passengers of the aircraft’s destination, these include:
- Flight number and destination are clearly printed on the passenger’s boarding card
- Flight number and destination are displayed at the gate
- Flight number and destination are called out in the standard boarding PA
- Flight number and destination are mentioned in the welcome PA on board."
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