Autistic boy, 8, ‘self-harmed after Ryanair refused to let him fly with his comfort toys on Lanzarote holiday’
AN autistic boy self-harmed after Ryanair refused to let him fly with his comfort toys, his mum has claimed. Leyton Martin, eight, was so distressed from the noise of the jet he gouged skin from his arms, his family said. The youngster wasn’t able to take on his toys and medicine, which help him relax, […]
AN autistic boy self-harmed after Ryanair refused to let him fly with his comfort toys, his mum has claimed.
Leyton Martin, eight, was so distressed from the noise of the jet he gouged skin from his arms, his family said.
The youngster wasn’t able to take on his toys and medicine, which help him relax, as his mum claims the airline insisted they go in the hold.
Claire Martin says she paid an extra £57 to take on the bags on the flight from Arecife, Lanzarote, to Manchester, last Thursday.
A Ryanair spokesman said she didn’t inform gate agents her son was autistic and hadn’t booked special assistance to help with boarding.
The Martin family were flying home from a last holiday before, Claire, 36, is treated for cancer.
Claire said: “I had paid 67 euro for extra luggage but the lady at the check out pointed to my son’s bag and said you are not taking that on board as it’s not priority luggage.
“When I tried explaining that to the lady that I needed Leyton’s bag she said “no” and became really aggressive.
“I proceeded to explain that my son, who was wearing his disability necklace, that it had his iPad, phone and sensory toys in the bag and we needed them for the five hour journey to keep him entertained.”
Claire added: “She said if we didn’t go now she was throwing us off the plane and phoning the police. My son was having a meltdown begging to go home.
“We weren’t even allowed to take out any of the items for the flight.
‘MY SON WAS HAVING A MELTDOWN’
“He then started to pick holes in his arm on the plane as this is what he does without his sensory toys. We didn’t have his ipad to watch with his ear phones something as noise really effects him.
“Even worse when we got back to Manchester the bag was not there they have now lost the bag and all my son’s belongings, my holiday photos and son’s birthday things that were in his bag.”
Claire released video of the distressed family making their way to the aircraft – Leyton can be heard crying as Claire complains that she went on holiday because of her cancer treatment and says it could be her “last holiday”.
The frustrated mum, who was travelling with husband, Tom, 38, and their daughter, Nevaeh, two, say they have made a formal complaint to Ryanair but not yet got a response.
A Ryanair spokesman said: “These customers were charged €66 for 6kg of excess baggage.
“We have received no complaint from these customers regarding this alleged incident. These customers did not pre-book special assistance for their flight (from Lanzarote to Manchester) nor did they contact Ryanair Customer Service before their flight to advise of any special requirements.
“These customers did not have priority boarding and they were informed by gate agents that their carry-on bag would be placed in the hold.
“These customers did not inform gate agents that their son was autistic at any point in the boarding process.”
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Leo Wakefield, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was travelling home with his carer from Alicante, Spain.
His mother, Helen, said Leo had a “meltdown” on Saturday evening after staff demanded they pay £25 as the item qualified as hand luggage.
Leo ended up flying home with Jet2. Pictures showed a stewardess who played with Leo throughout the flight.
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