I missed my flight when blundering airport staff left me stranded in my wheelchair – I couldn’t get on the Ryanair plane
A DISABLED woman was left fuming after missing her flight when blundering staff allegedly left her stranded in her wheelchair.
Lynne Smillie, from Manchester, had planned to fly to Benidorm for a holiday to celebrate turning 49 last month.
She and husband Stephen, 54, arrived at their gate in Manchester Airport right on time and in high spirits.
But those spirits were quickly dampened.
Lynne – who suffers with muscular dystrophy – claims they were left waiting for assistance to use a lift.
It only arrived after another member of staff had disappeared with their boarding passes.
Staff at the airport were “absolutely useless”, Lynn said.
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The 49-year-old added: “I burst into tears, I was tired and worked up, and we could see the plane was still there.”
The couple had arranged to be met by workers from ABM, who provide special assistance at the airport, when they arrived on May 23.
But, to access their Ryanair flight, Lynne needed to get to the top of a set of stairs.
She was taken to the disabled lift by an ABM worker, who she claims told them to wait for another employee to assist them.
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But her and Stephen were left completely stranded when no one came.
Lynne said: “Usually, they put us in wheelchairs on first, but they didn’t. There were about five of us, and they left us to the end.
“A staff member asked if there was anyone who couldn’t get up the steps themselves, and everyone could except me.
“So, he took myself and my husband down and left us at the lift – saying someone would be back for us.
“We sat there stressing out because the departure time was getting closer and closer and there was nothing we could do about it.”
Twenty minutes later, Lynne alleges that a Swissport staff member – who are the handling agents for the airline – asked the couple for their boarding passes.
When she handed them over, he wandered off without explanation, Lynn said.
Another ABM staff member then came up to fetch Lynne and her husband – but they couldn’t go anywhere without their boarding passes.
Lynne claims that he went to talk to the man who had their passes, but by the time he returned, it was too late.
The couple allege they were told that the gate had closed and the pilot couldn’t accept them on the flight because it was too late to board.
FLIGHTMARE
Lynne said: “The luggage was still being loaded, so we couldn’t understand why we couldn’t board.
“They just kept saying, ‘the pilot won’t accept you, I’m so sorry’.
“They said the only thing they could do was put me on a later flight, but we’d have to pay for the tickets. But why should we? It wasn’t our fault.”
The couple were forced to return the next day to jet off to Spain.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to this passenger.
“As a gesture of goodwill, we re-accommodated her and her companion on the next available flight the following morning free of charge.”
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said it was “disappointing” to hear about Lynne’s experience at the airport despite most people needing special assistance having a “positive experience”.
An ABM spokesperson spoke of their “regret” regarding the incident and stressed the “importance of the special assistance services” that they provide.
“We always aim to deliver that service with efficiency, respect, and care and regret when passengers experience anything short of these standards.
“Learning from these moments, we are actively working with our teams, clients and partners to implement efforts to minimise the impact on passengers.
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“In addition, our teams are currently experiencing higher volumes of special assistance requests than our busiest pre-pandemic peak.”
Swissport have been approached for a comment.