Simon Holmes has spoken out after Ryanair refused to let his pregnant wife Fiona onto a flight as she was 32 weeks pregnant.
Fiona had flown from Dublin when she was 30 weeks pregnant and hadn’t encountered any problems but when the couple and their children tried to board their return flight from London Gatwick last Wednesday, they were told Fiona couldn’t board the flight.
Thirty eight-year-old Simon said it was the first time they had heard that this policy applies to pregnancies over 28 weeks.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Simon explained what happened: “They apologised for their mistake on the way out, but they said we had to go to A&E to get hold of one [letter] before they’d let us fly back.”
Simon went on to say staff did not offer them transport to get back to security, a journey which amounts to three quarters of a mile.
“They just abandoned us. They told us we had to take public transport, but they would not confirm whether we would even be able to get one of the letters when we arrived”.
Fiona and Simon were told that a letter from A&E would not suffice and they needed to get the go-ahead from Fiona’s doctor in Menlough, Galway before she would be permitted to board the flight.
This was later secured by email and Fiona, Simon and their daughters Ruby (4) and Isla (18 months) made it onto another flight hours later.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: “Ryanair apologises for any inconvenience caused. However, as stated in our terms and conditions agreed to at the time of booking, it is the responsibility of each customer [and not the airline] to ensure they have the necessary documentation, where relevant, stating they are fit to fly.
“In this case, the customer did not have the necessary documentation. Once the customer provided this documentation, they were transferred free of charge onto the next available flight.”
