RyanAir Flight delay and poor response

[Johnwrights]

RyanAir Flight delay and poor response

 I missed my flight yesterday.

Original departure  time: 7.05PM
Delayed departure time: 7.56PM

I was waiting in the lounge at Stansted airport. I noticed that my flight still had “go to gate” in “big screen”. Google flight status and liveflightstat notified that flight is delayed by 56 minutes. All other flights had status changes such as “go to boarding” and “final call”. My flight had status as “just go to gate”.

my 1 year old kid and I went to the gate just 15 minutes after the original departure gate(6.35pm) around 6.50pm. 5 min walk from main screen. There was no one at the desk. I informed the security who was standing at the next gate. My wife arrived 10 minutes after me(in total, she spent 20 minutes extra in security check) as child food needed detailed security check. Security took me to the small helpdesk, where she informed that boarding is closed just 10 minutes back . I said there was no announcement and big screen just said “go to gate”, she did something in system and after which I went to check the main display and directly changed to “gate is closed”. In that area, there were atleast 5 gates.
Almost 20 passengers missed the flights due to “wrong gate numbers and boarding closed early” for delayed flights. Most are RyanAir and EasyJet.
Security asked us to speak to the flight help desk.

RyanAir ticket sales people were not really friendly except one guy.

I explained this to the Ryanair helpdesk. The first girl said this is not a RyanAir problem. I said, as a consumer I was affected and you should help me. What should I do?. I showed the google flight status. This girl directly said this flight is not delayed. If you think it is delayed, go and sue google.com and airport.

I went to the next guy. Same thing went on. He said the flight is not delayed. He persisted that google is wrong. Where it says flight is delayed!!!.This guy said boarding is closed by 6.56PM(original closing time is 6.35pm). I was there by 6.50PM. Then, he really doubted where I was inside the airport. He asked me the gate number . I asked him to check the camera if he doesn’t believe me.He went inside and came back. He seems to knew that everything I said was true. This time he said you probably arrived at the boarding gate on time and you might have missed the flight because you waited for your wife. He said nothing he can do. Pay 100GBP per passenger to reschedule the flight.

I noticed that two more Ryanair customer was unhappy with the responses and asked for complaint forms. Other customers had argument and help desk guy said I d9nt even work for Ryanair. Probably outsourced to contractors!!!. I also asked for the complaint form because I was not happy with the answer.

He said, my manager listens to us. I think nothing you can do now and my manager will also give the same answer.

I said to him that I will be back in 10 minutes if I need the ticket. I discussed with my wife and then brought my credit card to pay. This guy just said I closed for the day. Come back tomorrow morning by 4am. And then, I spoke to his colleague. He said I saw you are speaking with my colleague, I finish my work about 9.30pm, I need to watch football. I said I just went to collect my credit card. The first guy laughed and said “it is not about the credit card”
It’s unbelievable to hear such poor response from help desk that was saying “We are here to help” Oh,really?!?!Were you even considering us?

Is there any wrong in asking the complaint form?

The next day I came early about 7AM(2 hrs travel from my home). This time Ryanair guy said he doesn’t have any notes at all. All flights are fully booked. Then, he said only one ticket is free. I persisted and he gave me 3 tickets after paying 300GBP. Though he didn’t sell me at first and eventually he gave the tickets. Atleast he was helpful in one way.

Again for the rescheduled 12,O clock ticket. I got the notification for 30 minutes delay from google by 9AM. The main screen displayed the delay by 10AM and gate number was displayed by 11.25. Event though big screen showed as “go to gate”, screen on the way to Gate , small screens showed that “gate is open”. May be there is a delay or statuses are not updated for all flights.

I spent about 400GBP in taxi itself. More than money, My child spent more than 8 hours in taxi.

Now , questions are..

Do I have any chance to get the refund?.

Do I need to complaint about RyanAir or Stansted airport?.

Assume that I caught this flight on time, since the flight is delayed I might have missed the car hire at Oslo airport as they close early.

What should I do? There were 20 people like me, supposed to catch flights at the gates 8x, missed them.

I have photos and screenshots to support my case.

I'm afraid I find your post a bit confusing. Am I right in thinking that you relied on google to tell you your flight was delayed but the screen in the airport said 'go to gate'? If so, had you gone to the gate when you were advised to you would have been able to board and depart on time. If this is the case then YABU.
Otherwise, the staff do sound rather rude and unhelpful and in that case I think YW maybe NBU.

To be honest, I'm struggling to understand what you mean.

Sounds to me like you relying on third party information about a delayed departure and then were leaving it to the last minute to get to the gate, forgetting how long it can to get through security.

Think you will have to chalk it up to experience, can't see you getting anywhere with a complaint.

So Google gave you the wrong information and you chose that over the screens at Stansted saying go to gate? Sorry but your post is very long and detailed and perhaps need summarising if you want some professional and accurate advice.

So the screen said 'go to gate' but you didn't because you trusted google?

Hi,

All flights have status changes such as start with “gate number”, “go to gate” and then “boarding started” and “last call”. I don’t see any of hose status changes. Their ticket says that gate closing time is 30 minutes before the departure. All gates between 83-88 had issues. In this case, flight is delayed and boarding closed well before the delayed boarding time of 6.56pm

Was the information unclear on the board in the airport - was the gate information wrong.

Once it says Go to gate why didnt you go to the gate. Why was your wife still stuck in security at the departure time of the flight

and why the hell are you looking at google rather than going to the gate

It sounds like your own fault for relying on google rather then going to gate when the board said go to gate? The fact your wife got there 20mins after you did also suggests you didn't leave much time between getting to the airport and flight time?

I can't make head nor tail of your post but it sounds to me that you you hasn't even got though security by the time of your flight?

If it says go to gate you go to the gate. You don't rely on google! I've known gates go from go to gate to gate closed in a few minutes.

You sound like you were screwed regardless if your wife arrived well after the scheduled departure time because she'd spent 20 mins at security. Why on earth were you so late going through security? And don't use Google to check flight times! Follow what the screens in the airport are telling you. Even if a flight has come in late and departure might be delayed, if they can get you on sooner they will so they can take advantage of any earlier take-off slots that become available.

If the screens in the airport didn't tell you it was delayed, then you have to assume that it's running on time and be there when you should. I think you've been a bit silly but hopefully it's a learning point (an expensive one!) for the future.

Sounds like they boarded more or less on time, but the flight was delayed on the tarmac. Gates close half an hour before the advertised departure time, so you were late.

Why didn't you go through security and then wait?

The staff weren’t helpful but I think the problem of missing your flight was entirely of your making. As soon as you see a gate number up, you should go to that area. There is no reason to hang around in the main area, there are facilities etc by the gate if you are delayed for any reason.

And actually, the screen said go to gate but you didnt bother because google said the flight was delayed and somehow that's Ryanair's fault?

Really?

So you went to the gate at 650 when the departure time was 656? You were never going to make that flight.

Yeah... like others, I’m confused why you’d google for information, and why you weren’t through security in time for your gate anyway?

If your wife was going through security half an hour after your scheduled boarding time, you clearly arrived at the airport too late.

So it said 'go to gate' and you waited because of something you searched online?

Why didn't you just go to the gate, like you were advised to at the actual airport?

Gates close 30 mins before departure time. You need to be at the gate earlier. The best thing to do is go through security and then wait the other side.
Im not sure I follow what happened at the customer services and why you ended up in a taxi.

Ryanair outsource departure staff at Stansted, or at least they did a couple of years ago as I knew someone who worked there (now working in a different job).

I cannot see you getting anywhere with a complaint, regardless of the airline.

Also, it is RyanAir. Yes, their flights may be cheaper but they will find ANY reason to charge you more.

In the future, I suggest paying a little more for BA.

I left my wife at security to complete the checks. I reached the gate on time . As per Ryanair service desk, boarding was delayed to 6.56pm and I was there by 6.50pm. No one was at the boarding desk. What I was noticed next day that boarding closed once no one was in the queue irrespective of boarding closing time. If no one is in the queue, they are giving tickets to standby...

If it says Go To Gate , you go to gate. Simple. Sounds like you arrived late at the airport. Agree that some staff sounded rude .

Your op is a bit confusing. It does sound as though you didn’t arrive at the airport in good time if your wife was so late getting through security. It does also sound as though you did not follow the advice displayed at the airport. I think you made a mistake googling for information instead. Unless there is a crucial factor that you haven’t made clear complaining about missing your flight won’t get you very far.

On the other hand the help desk staff do sound rude and obstructive and you should definitely complain about them.

You sat and didn’t go to the gate.

You didn’t allow enough time to get through security and your wife was held up there.

Get to the airport earlier and don’t trust google.

It’s not Ryanair’s Fault.

Would you have gone without your wife then? If you were there but she wasn’t.. they wouldn’t have held the flight for her anyway (or shouldn’t!).

As others have said, if the screens say ‘go to gate’ then that’s what you do.

It honestly reads like you thought you were being clever and had no plans to be waiting around for anyone, so thought you could get there last minute and all would be fine. You messed up though.