To wonder how the hell Ryanair get away with such shoddy "customer service"??

[Topseyt]

Tonight my daughter and her friends were supposed to by flying home following a short holiday in another European country. Flight cancelled. No clear reason given.

They have just been herded into a room at the airport (a fairly major European one), told that they cannot be put onto another flight until sometime tomorrow, if then, and left for the night. There are several children on the flight too, including the one year old DD of my daughter's friend. They have no access to water, much less to food. There are no Ryanair staff at the airport (all gone home for the night).

Now I know that Ryanair are a no-frills airline with cheap flights. I am also aware of their reputation for a cavalier attitude to their customers. Can they really leave them without easy access to water though?

Of course, I can find no 24 hour helpline which I can use to try and apply pressure to help them. Anything I can find is either unobtainable or closed.

I fly with Ryanair 6 to 8 times a year. The one time I've had a flight cancelled was due to the airport crew not coping with de-icing the aircrafts. We were told that our flight has been rescheduled to the following morning and we could either stay for the next 7 hours or book ourselves to an airport hotel. Admittedly they did say they will only refund the cheaper hotels (so Novotel was out of the question) but for 7 hours it didn't really matter. Based on my experience I'd say it's more the airport rather then airline that's at fault here.

I don't think the OP said her daughter was being held. They've been offered use of a room (with some beds provided). Berlin airport has vending machines, both air and land side.

They are free to leave but unable to do so. They can't access travel insurance because they didn't have any (lesson learned there, I hope). But don't see why they couldn't pay for a hotel anyway, then claim a refund (what's the delay limit on hours for which one can claim accommodation costs?).

Could have offered some water though, I agree.

They are free to leave but unable to do so because they haven't been given the appropriate info etc.

It's not just Ryanair I had this happen about ten years ago with monarch (I think) flying into kos. We landed on the wrong Island then the flight crew just buggered off and left us all in one room. It's rxtremely unpleasant get tweeting and calling OP good luck

Why on earth would anyone travel without insurance?

I fly with Ryanair 5+ return trips a year and never had a problem with them. Sometimes I Think I'm the only one in the world..

Their customer service (or lack of) is notorious but everyone still uses them because the flights are so cheap. Every so often things go wrong and passengers are treated really badly, but the majority of people will have a normal flight and save a lot of money and so will use them again next time.

I have very little sympathy for anyone who doesn't have travel insurance then gets the shits when things go wrong.

I don't think you should even be allowed to leave the country without showing proof of travel insurance.

That sounds awfully like Ryanair have broken EU law.

Regulation (EC) 261/2004 requires airlines compensate passengers if their flight is cancelled or heavily delayed. They must also offer you meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation as appropriate whilst you wait for a rearranged flight. They should also cover any transport costs between the hotel and the airport. There are no time or monetary limits on the provision of this assistance. If your airline does not provide assistance, keep your spending to a minimum, make sure you get receipts and claim reimbursement from your airline when you get home.

They should also entitled to compensation of €250 each, despite being given a seat on a new flight today.

This page sets out what Ryanair are supposed to do when this happens so check what they did and then get your DD to launch the claim.

Actually travel insurance doesn't really cover this too much, you might get a payout for delays of over 12 hours but its usually miniscule. Some policies will also cover consequential loss but its very rare.

Insurance for a trip to Germany would be pence

Sound like they don't have any other options but the airport seems more at fault here

Why Midnite? Insurance isn't compulsory. Depending where your travelling make it a sensible option certainly, but other times it's pointless.

If you don't have it and the above situation occurs you either pay for a hotel room and turn up to the airport early, or sleep at the airport.

Berlin actually has vending machines so that's not an issue, or leave and get water/food elsewhere

It's usually always the uncertainty of what to do that's the issue. But if there are no flights until 6am or such like then you can be quite certain you won't be getting on a flight until then.

We actively avoid ever flying with Ryanair because they are so awful. I suppose the problem is that they are young and don't really know how to work around these situations. Does your daughter have a credit card? If so she could consider leaving the airport and staying in a cheap hotel. She may be able to reclaim the money from Ryanair at a later date although I bet it will be hard work.

Sorry - i'm the same with the insurance attitude, its so cheap these days there is NO excuse to travel without it

No sympathy from here

(yes its shocking the way Ryanair treat you, but thats not news, and until people stop using them they will keep on doing it)

Why Midnite? Insurance isn't compulsory. Depending where your travelling make it a sensible option certainly, but other times it's pointless.

Personally, I think it should be compulsory. Because things happen overseas, and you'd be a fool not to take it out. There was a case a couple of years ago of an Australian man who got injured bungee jumping or some such in India or somewhere, then the family sulking all over the media that the Australian government wouldn't pay for him to be returned home. Why was he even travelling without travel insurance, then doing extreme sports? It's not the government's responsibility to pay for your medical expenses because you are too cheap to take out travel insurance.

www.theguardian.com/money/2010/sep/11/travel-insurance-european-holiday

"Presenting the EHIC entitles you to treatment that may become necessary during your trip. It doesn't allow you to go abroad specifically to receive medical care, but routine maternity care, renal dialysis and managing the symptoms of existing or chronic conditions that arise while abroad are covered. The card allows you the same state-provided healthcare as a resident of the country you are visiting. In some countries patients must contribute to the cost of their treatment and, even with an EHIC, you might be expected to do the same, though you may be reimbursed for this when you are back in the UK, if you are not able to do so in the other country.

Advice from the UK government and the NHS is that the EHIC is not an alternative to travel insurance because it does not cover the costs of private healthcare or services that are not part of the state healthcare system, nor does it cover the cost of mountain rescue in ski resorts or being brought back to the UK"

You need travel insurance!!

It is truely stupid to travel without insurance - the main risk is that you run up medical bills or need special transport where you end up owing thousands.

However, you must ensure that it covers any activities that you undertake - check the small print. Many are deemed 'risky' by the insurers who will only cover you if you pay extra. Same goes for any pre-existing medical conditions.

However, that is not really the issue for the OPs DD and, like another poster has said, if the cancellation is Ryanair's fault (eg not due to weather, strikes or natural disaster) she is entitled to a certain level of compensation and food/hotel if delayed overnight. Look on moneysavingexpert for how to claim.

I think Ryanair are actually quite good for low levels of delays and cancellations but it would appear that they aren't great in meeting passengers rights when things go wrong.

They probably aren't significantly worse than other no frills airlines and it's not something I consider when choosing flights (not that we have much choice anyway - all the flights we want are from the north of England to Europe and are all on low cost airlines - BA etc only fly domestically and long haul from here). So it's usually Jet2 for us, who aren't great, but they're all much of a muchness really.

Travel insurance isn't just for missed flights.

Lost luggage, pickpocketed sunglasses, dropped cameras and iPads, being sued for wrecking or breaking something, having to return early, having your body flown back.

I don't understand why, for the sake of a few quid (on a Euro holiday), people think it's a wasted expense.

Wasted 'few' quid? MY insurance is usually MORE than my holiday itself !!

Find it hard to beleive that they have been locked up in a room for the night. At a major airport passengers are generally left to wander about the public areas (i.e. the departure lounge) even when all the shops are closed.

I have just bought annual travel insurance for Europe for DP and I for less than £60 (and a free £10 Debenhams gift card) that includes enhanced cancellation cover, the hazardous activities that we will be doing and DP's admittedly not particulary serious pre-existing health issues.

I could have got it cheaper if I had gone for a more basic policy from a company off the internet that I had never heard off.

It will probably cover at least 3 or 4 trips abroad and will be trivial compared to the actual cost of even one holiday. We will probably spend more on snacks at the airports.

People may have difficulties if they are very old, or have serious illnesses, but for most people, insurance really does only cost a few quid.

Why is your travel insurance more than the cost of your holiday? Are you higher risk than the rest of us?

from Google - and Compare the market blurb

"A family of four taking a one week holiday in Spain this August could pick up a policy for as little as £9.53 by comparing policies using our travel "

?

I've never been able to find policies for the tiny prices quoted on comparison sites and moneysavingexpert but even when we weren't including medical conditions and sporting activities, we generally paid £10-15 for a one week trip in Europe for a couple.

Worktolive if you don't want to post the company on here would you pm me please? I am trying to find annual insurance for Ds who does have a not too serious pre existing condition but has now broken his ankle last week. However he isn't due to fly until 26th and hospital are ok with it. Just need to find an insurer. Thanks

Wasted 'few' quid? MY insurance is usually MORE than my holiday itself

Understood. I get that some people have high travel insurance costs. Do you ever not pay yours?

But in this case, assuming a couple of young healthy girls on a short European break, this will be a few quid at most.