Stranded in Italy by RyanAir should we sue?!

[Plentifulpenguins]

My husband and I are in our late 40s flew to Perugia for a much-desired holiday after my terminal cancer diagnosis as a final hurrah and we were due to stay at a hotel there. We flew with RyanAir to Perugia but 15 minutes from landing they said we were diverting to Bologna for weather reasons and then changed it to Pisa. We landed in Pisa which is 4 hours from Perugia, at 9pm, and assumed Ryanair would help us get back to Perugia. They told us they’d put us all on a bus but when we cleared security there was no bus!!!!!!!!!!! Im not well enough to drive and my partner is unable to drive so we couldn’t get a car hire.We waited until midnight trying to call taxis, hotels and Ryan air and nobody would help as there were no hotels available and over 100 passengers stranded including a couple with a newborn baby!!! In the end we and several others slept on the floor outside the airport because nobody from Ryanair was around and there was nowhere in the airport or neighbouring places to stay!!!!. At about 4am we managed to get a taxi and paid 675 euros to go to Perugia, and have almost arrived. I can’t even get hold of Ryanair and was just told via an automated email to put a claim through their online system. AIBU to bring legal case against Ryan air because they couldn’t even provide any alternatives and just left us stranded?? Does anyone even know how to do this or whether I’m wasting my time?

What you can, and can't claim:

www.bottonline.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation/claim-guides/how-much#:~:text=If%20your%20flight%20was%20diverted,was%20caused%20by%20extraordinary%20circumstances

Did you see that a bus arrived at 11pm? A PP put it on page 3 of this thread

Surely it doesn't matter if the bus arrived at 11pm if there was absolutely no communication and nobody bothered to try and find the 100 missing passengers. How were they to know?

Not disagreeing, it sounds shit

Sorry your trip has been marred by this. Unfortunately if they diverted because of weather problems I doubt if they will compensate as they will say it’s outside their control. However the good news is your travel insurance will cover this, just remember to keep all receipts for your claim. There should be an emergency number to call for help in your travel insurance documents if you need further assistance.

We had this. Dumped in an airport 4 hours drive away promised coaches (ha) but they were imaginary. The joy of budget airlines. We got an Uber which they refunded. Risk you take with travel.

I'm not directing this at OP, as I can understand her health issues.

However, I do think that a lot of people expect instant gratification, instant customer service, instant everything right then and there when the issue is caused by an Act of God i.e. the weather in this case. And as for the rush to castigate Ryanair, well I am sure there were many airlines on their way to Perugia similarly affected. It is life, it is travel, it is weather events. A bit of patience would be useful, and I am sure many passengers understood the circumstances and waited for the coach to arrive, which it did.

I am not an employee of, nor do I have connections with Ryanair, but I would have waited around a bit to see what arrangements would be put in place. It could not possibly have been organised for the instant the plane landed in Pisa since that only happened because Bologna was affected and a further diversion was required.

A few years ago my RYR flight was cancelled due to ATC strike. We queued patiently to be sorted out, while others were going a bit doolally (no kids involved either, just a sense of entitlement and zero patience). When we reached the top of the queue we were called to a side office. We were told that our calmness and patience was noted, and we were given a 4* suite in a lovely hotel, a taxi to it and a taxi back to the airport. No coach for us! The stay was three days. Was brilliant!

I hope OP and the other passengers are now sorted, although Perugia does not look terribly inviting at the moment unfortunately.

This happened overnight too so we were stranded at 3am. And we all caught covid. Fun times. No travel is risk free

Notify your travel insurance provider and ask them what you require for a claim to get back the additional expenses.
There are basic passenger rights which will let you know what your airline should provide in your circumstances, they will be on the Ryanair website or available in the airport.

It does matter in terms of how successful OP will be in claiming any compensation. Ryanair have provided buses, so from their POV OP was not in fact abandoned or left stranded.

Hi Op ....

Put claim through Ryanair first, if they don't pay up refer claim to Aviation Dispute Resolution.

I had a cancelled flight within 7 days when i ended up having to catch a flight to another airport.

I claimed via Wiz Air turned down but then used ADR and Wizz Air then agreed that the compensation was due...asked for bank details but have not paid....so money claim online going through where i will register a CCJ if they don't pay.

A money claim online costs £50 and you can reclaim this too...but you have to go through Ryanair claims first.

Not excusing the ground staff but one problem in situations like this where you divert a flight but stay "in country" is some passengers will clear immigration and then "self disperse"..for example if they lived half way'ish between Pisa and Perugia they might not have been interested in getting on a bus to Perugia airport, they might have tried to make their own way home....

The result of that is even if ground staff at Pisa did a search they won't have known how exactly how many people they needed to put on the buses and maybe a few dozen (??) looked like enough..do we know how many were actually left stranded?

I also have to say objectively if the flight landed at 9 PM local time and buses were really in place at 11 PM local that's a pretty good effort..

Unfortunately there was a bus, OP. You needed to wait until it arrived (which was 11pm). Sadly this now means that any claim you put in will be refused

I'm so sorry about your diagnosis, OP. This Ryanair mess is tge last thing you need when you wanted a relaxing, memorable holiday.

Good to hear you've put your claim in. Follow their claims/complaints procedure and if they don't pay up, put a claim in via the small claims court; I think it's called Money Claim Online now, or something similar.

Meantime, have a wonderful holiday.

I think what people expect - and have the right to expect- is some clear, regular communication about what to do, where to go and what is happening. Not to just be left at the airport with no one to talk to wondering what the fuck to do. Its not to much to expect Ryan Air to have rustled up one member of staff to meet the flight.

They can’t possibly have a Ryanair representative at every airport for the small chance a Ryanair flight has to divert. If they did, they would have to significantly increase ticket prices, which people would complain about aswell.

I’m not particularly a fan of Ryanair myself and I agree that a lack of communication is poor, but the idea that they would be able to rustle up a staff member for situations like this just isn’t possible.

"Surely it doesn't matter if the bus arrived at 11pm if there was absolutely no communication and nobody bothered to try and find the 100 missing passengers. How were they to know?"

Find them where? From the OP and other comments on Twitter they shot straight out of the terminal and expected coaches there waiting. Then they wandered around the airport, slept outside etc.

Think of the logistics of it. Ryanair have no staff in Pisa, so the ground staff they subcontract suddenly need to sort something out. If you leave the airport then you're not going to be there to hear the announcements are you.

There will have been a waiting area where the other passengers went and managed to get the coaches that came at 11pm.

Always stay with the main group in the terminal OP!

Ironically, social media and twitter are usually the best forms of communication in these situations.

Hope you manage to claim something back OP, it sounded dreadful. And it hasn’t ruined your trip x

I wish people would read the thread. No point putting a claim in. There was a bus that turned up so Ryanair will see it as OP decided to make her own way there rather then get the bus. It’s a none payout. I would for an airline and when unexpected things happen like this we need time to organise hotels and alternative transportation.

We were paid back our £200 Uber fare by easyJet as we were dumped at 1am and there was no bus until the next morning. Too old to sit on an airport floor all night ! Didn’t occur to us to sue them risk you take with budget airlines.

We are solicitors though and know it’s rarely worth suing anyone!

That's absolutely dreadful. But not all companies are so awful - earlier in the year we travelled with reputable package company, our flight was delayed, and we were all transferred to a 5 star hotel until a new flight was arranged.

The weather to the north east was beyond extreme. Over 40cm of rain fell in one location, at least ten people have been killed by the flooding. For once there is a reasonable excuse for the chaos.

I did see that yes. And OP should've stayed put to wait for the coach.