Ryanair take my granddaughter off flight

boofleman

Recently my 15 year old granddaughter came to stay with me in France. Her mother brought her out and I had agreed to take her back to the UK.
I booked flights to Stansted for my granddaughter and myself and booked a return flight just for myself. My son arranged to be at Stansted to meet us on arrival.
I made the online check-in for both of us and we were allocated random seating in completely different rows. No problem for either of us as my granddaughter is quite mature and, anyway, she would occupy her time listening to music on her headphones.
On arrival at the airport we went through security and into the departure gate. Unfortunately I suffer from angina and I was getting a bit anxious and feeling a bit nauseous. I didn't want to worry my granddaughter but I was getting concerned about having to fly and then tackle the chaos at Stansted airport. But, just then I spotted a woman I know quite well. She lives in the village next to where I live and has raised 2 daughters and a son of her own. Very friendly and capable lady. I asked her if she would be the adult passenger for my granddaughter and she said it would be no problem and she had done same for other people (several times). My granddaughter was very happy with this arrangement and off they went through the departure door and onto the plane.
For clarity I will just add here that I was allocated a seat in a completely different row to my granddaughter so I could see no problem for her to travel with this lady who was also in a different row. The lady had also said she would ensure my granddaughter was delivered to her father even if she had to wait for him to arrive at Stansted.
I explained to the Ryanair person in the departure gate that I did not feel that well and would not be flying. I did not mention chest pains or angina because such a mention in France would see me wired up to all kinds of machines in minutes. However, I was not asked at all what was wrong with me. The feeling I got was that I was getting in the way and the quicker I was removed the better. Thus I was marched back through security and left in the main airport hall.
I was on the phone to my wife to explain that I did not feel well and had not travelled. She, of course asked what arrangements I had made. We were discussing if she, my wife, should come to collect me (rather than I drive home) when this same Ryanair individual bellowed at me from about 10 paces "Sir, your granddaughter is off the flight". As you might imagine, not only was I shaken up but my granddaughter was really distraught. Plus, no attempt was made to deal with the matter discreetly which only added to our discomfort. I later found out from my granddaughter that my friend had stood up on the plane and told the attendant that the girl was travelling with her. Apparently she was told to sit down.
I should add here that my grandchildren have visited me before and often travelled back to UK with friends or neighbours so I was shocked by this insensitive action. Of course, I asked why my granddaughter was taken off and the Ryanair rep said it was because she was on the same booking reference as me and therefore had to fly with me. I said that I could not imagine that to be correct and, anyway, we were to fly in completely different rows. He did not care about this and then accused me of trying to cheat Ryanair! Something that seems strange to me as I had tickets for both directions which I was not using.
Finally, as my granddaughter had to be back in UK for school, I booked her on AirFrance to London Heathrow at a cost of £426.00 just for her.
I have since researched the T & C's on the Ryanair website and can only find the following clause "Ryanair does not carry unaccompanied minors under 16 years. Children under the age of 16 years must always be accompanied by a passenger over 16"
Further I made contact with the Ryanair chatline and asked to know the policy for under 16 year old travelling with an adult. I was told that it can be anyone over the age of 16. No other conditions apply.
I then called Ryanair and spoke with a Ryanair representative. Again I asked the same questions and was told, without hesitation or complication, that a minor can travel with anyone over the age of 16. I asked if any other conditions apply and she said No.
Therefore, I think I have complied with the rules. Has anyone had a similar problem? Does anyone know of a Ryanair rule to the contrary and, if so, can they send me a link to this rule?
For those that might ask, my granddaughter thoroughly enjoyed the AirFrance flight and was reunited with her father at Heathrow. I am feeling much better - as long as I keep taking the tablets !!

LirW

I have a bit of experience with unaccompanied minors flying and unfortunately I'm quite certain you are in the wrong. The key point is the booking reference. She was supposed to fly with you, you did not take the flight therefore she'd effectively is unaccompanied under 16 and Ryanair will refuse her. It doesn't matter that you made the arrangement last second with your friend - they haven't booked together so she'd travel with a stranger officially and I'm not surprised the Airline doesn't take this responsibility. This scenario, even if it's a rare case, can easily be exploited for human trafficking.

boofleman

Hi, thanks. You may well be right and I'm ready to accept where I'm wrong but where exactly does Ryanair say a child must be accompanied with a passenger with the same booking reference? I cannot find any such wording within their T & C's and both their chat line and person on phone also did not quote such. Both referred me to the simple clause in the website T & C's which just says "..... always be accompanied by a passenger over 16 years".
Thanks

ED E

Can a child (under 16) be added to an existing reservation?
No. It’s not possible to add a child under 16 to an existing flight reservation, however you can make a new separate reservation.

The reservation for the child under 16 needs to be booked online (as an adult), once the booking has been made you will need to contact us via chat or you can call our call centre and speak with one of our team.
Please ensure that you have the following information included in your email/chat:
• Both flight booking references so that we can cross reference these details in both bookings.
• The child’s passport/travel documentation details.

Please note: online check-in is not available when a child is booked in a separate reservation. The customer will need to check-in at the airport (free of charge).
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful...h-children#0-6
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davetherave

I haven't looked, so I can't say that it does or does not state the child must be on the same booking. However the Ryanair website won't let you book a child/teen on their own. It defaults to one adult, and you can't remove that adult regardless of how many teens/child/infants you add. It's possible that it would be inferred that the teen/child would be traveling with that adult?

seamus

The website has detailed instructions on what you need to do to make booking for children, include the part quoted above about contacting them to link separate bookings together.

By all means put in the complaint, you've nothing to lose. But ultimately from a documentation point of view your granddaughter was unaccompanied. A random other passenger standing up and claiming to be the accompanying passenger doesn't cut it.

Baybay

I'm not in a position to google a link just now but from speaking with friends with children under 16, it seems the French government imposed further restrictions on unaccompanied minors flying out of France earlier this year. Not sure about details.

Maz2016

It must have been very frustrating for you and you must be fairly annoyed. I don't mean this in a bad way, but I'm happy to see Ryanair have measures in place to potentially spot child trafficking. Now, I know your story is legit but I guess their procedures worked on that day.
I've never booked for a child so can't help you but from reading your post, I think Ryanair should word it better. Maybe you could make a complaint and ask for a refund on compassionate grounds. Hope it all works out for you and glad your granddaughter got home safely (eventually)

Mr rebel

I'm surprised she got as far as being seated on the plane. You'd think this issue would have been picked up on when boarding at the gate?!