Ryanair has admitted a customer service agent wrongly refused a widow a refund for flights booked by her late husband. Yvonne Shields, 44, attempted to cancel Colin Shields’s booking from Edinburgh to Venice after he died in April from a brain bleed.
Mr Shields, who was tetraplegic following an accident 14 years ago, had booked the September flight for himself and two essential carers. He was due to represent Scotland at a power-chair football match. Ms Shields contacted the airline to request a refund on all three tickets but was told she could only get money back for her husband’s £258 ticket.
Despite providing a death certificate and proof she was executor of the will, Ms Shields was reportedly told the airline could not give information on the refund unless they spoke to the booker. She said she had not received the partial refund.
Ryanair initially stated that the other two passengers were not entitled to a refund as the death occurred more than six months before travel, but later said they would be refunded as a gesture of goodwill. A spokesperson said: “Mrs Shields was incorrectly advised by a customer service agent who wrongly believed the other two passengers were not entitled to a refund.”
The airline confirmed that Mr Shields’s ticket was refunded on 30 June and the carers’ tickets were refunded on 28 July. Ryanair said it would assist Ms Shields further to correct the error.
