A family traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria have shared their ordeal at Bristol Airport, which left them split up before their flight. The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, detailed the upsetting incident when her husband was prevented from boarding their Ryanair flight on Sunday, July 14, precisely because he was only five minutes behind schedule due to parking delays.
Their flight, originally scheduled for a 5.55am take-off, was delayed by around half an hour, which was compounded when the man was denied boarding. He had to travel to Luton Airport the next day for another flight to Sofia, which cost the family an extra £400.
Ryanair has said that the boarding gate will be closed at the scheduled time of 5.30am after a 40-minute window and has highlighted that once boarding is complete, a manifest is legally signed and sent to the captain , which prevents the re-opening of boarding then, reports Bristol Live.
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The distraught mother described the experience as “very unpleasant” and her situation was made worse when she informed a member of Ryanair staff at the gate of her husband’s arrival, only to be told told her he had two minutes before the gate closed. Unfortunately her husband was not allowed to board despite her pleas and while all other passengers were still boarding.
The mother said: “I called my husband to hurry and he was literally running towards the gate and said he was a minute away. We went through the boarding gate because it takes longer with a little one and she then closed it without more than one minute later.”
She said: “Within two or five minutes after we first got to the gate, my husband’s face came up on the gate window. He was shouting and asking to be let in and looked he was very happy as he thought he was.I was begging the gate supervisor to open it but she said she can’t open it when the gate is closed.
There was further upset when another passenger also did not make the flight: “Another passenger got to the gate just after my husband and couldn’t get in either. There were no passengers on board yet at the this time. I burst into tears because she had ruined our holiday and my children were very upset.”
The mother added: “Half an hour before our scheduled departure and no one had boarded yet. The plane didn’t take off for another full hour after the gate closed because The plane was delayed by 30 minutes. It was a terrible experience. on the table.
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“I asked my husband to hurry and he was literally running towards the gate and said it was a minute away. We went through the boarding gate as it takes longer with a small one and she then closed it not more than a minute later, two or five minutes after we first arrived at the gate, my husband’s face appeared on the gate window.
“I was begging the gate supervisor to open it but she said when the gate is closed she can’t open it. Why did she close it when he was a minute away and I told her he was coming ?There was another passenger who came to the gate right after my husband and he couldn’t board either.
“Half an hour before our scheduled departure and still no one had boarded. The plane didn’t take off for another full hour after the gate closed because the plane was 30 minutes late.” To have the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter
The family’s plans to celebrate a significant family reunion in Bulgaria and their daughter’s 16th birthday were disrupted by the issue. She vowed not to fly with Ryanair now: “It was a horrible, horrible operation. I want people to know what happened to us because they might think you have more time than you have to board. That put me off using Ryanair again.”
Ryanair said in a statement: “Boarding for this flight from Bristol to Sofia on July 14 opened at 04.50 local and closed at 05.35 local during which time this passenger did not present himself to gate handling agents before boarding was completed and was therefore rightly rejected. board at the gate agent at Bristol Airport.
They added: “It is the responsibility of every passenger to be present at the boarding gate before it closes (as specified on their boarding pass). Sofia along with the 180 passengers who appeared at the boarding gate desk in time.”