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Ryanair passengers hit out at airline as they are left stranded by cancelled flights

British people have been stranded around the globe by the airline - Facebook/BBC/Reuters 
British people have been stranded around the globe by the airline - Facebook/BBC/Reuters

Ryanair passengers have been left stranded for days at a time, with some desperate to get back to young children and others racking up huge and unexpected bills as they are forced to stay abroad for longer than planned.

Because of the multiple flight cancellations, Britons have been left in foreign countries, with some unable to get a new flight for days. 

The budget airline has announced a 2 per cent reduction in scheduled flights until the end of October.

This has left some unable to return to work after their trips, and cost an unaffordable amount in unexpected hotel bills. Some, frustrated by how long they say it has taken to get a new flight from the airline, have shelled out for last-minute return journeys from other, more expensive, airline providers.

Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, has said the company was “working hard to fix” the problem, but some don't think it is being resolved fast enough.

The Telegraph has contacted Ryanair for further comment.

Entire wedding party 'split up' 

Charlie Osman told the Irish Times of how members of his brother's wedding party were stuck in Bergerac, France, including sick people, old people and children.

He said: "We were unlucky enough to be affected in a pretty bad way.”

"There are sick people, old people and people with children. We were not helped or advised at all from Ryanair and we had to all sort everything ourselves at our own expense. The booking was done by one person and he was informed of the cancellation via email. As we didn’t have internet access, we only discovered this last minute once we arrived at the airport.

He says the party was not offered alternatives.

He explained: "We are on average all around €400 out of pocket, with one of the grooms still stuck in France until tomorrow. The entire wedding party has been split up, I had to fly to Southampton and make my way to London. Some are in the midlands, some Birmingham and some just decided to hire a car and drive. It feels like it’s put a big downer on the wedding."

Couple takes 13-hour trip home after being stranded in Poland

Carrie Ann Woodgate and her partner, Alan Fosberry, from Newcastle, told the BBC of how their romantic meal in Wroclaw, Poland, was ruined when they received a text message telling them their flight home had been axed.

She said: "We booked this trip in June, and have been looking forward to it as a nice thing to do in September."

They were offered a refund of their £19.99 tickets, or a rescheduled flight four days after they were supposed to return home.

Ms Woodgate spoke of how she had lost trust in the company: "I feel pure frustration and anger at Ryanair for leaving us stuck in the middle of Poland. We rely on these companies to get us home.

"If it is a lack of staff or late flights, they knew this was coming. It is a perfect storm."

They had to resort to a 13-hour trip home via Dusseldorf.

She said: "We need to get back. Alan has work and we have a cat that needs to be fed as the neighbours are unavailable."

 Cancer patient stuck in Madrid

Barbara Moss has been stranded in Madrid - Credit: Barbara Moss/Facebook
Barbara Moss has been stranded in Madrid Credit: Barbara Moss/Facebook

 Cancer patient Barbara Moss and her husband, Mark, are trying to get home to Worcester from a cancer conference in Madrid.

They thought their text cancelling their flight must be a joke - but found out it was true.

She told the BBC: "There was no assistance.

"We waited until Saturday morning when the [information] line was supposed to reopen, but it just stated that no agents were available.

"I looked for alternative flights with the airline, but nothing was available until Friday [22 September]."

Young women stranded in Budapest

 'In tears': Hen party stranded

Kirstin Armsden, whose flight home from France was cancelled, which stranded her and the hen party she was with, told Sky News: "We're in the middle of France with no phone signals - currently in the nearest town.

"(There are) 15 girls on a hen party we are now having to split up to go home with the majority of the party leaving a night early which means we've paid for a villa we're not using and it's cutting into our holiday.

"A lot of the party are getting a 24 hour bus home - one of these girls is pregnant another suffers from Crohn's disease - as other flights were extortionately priced.

"We are all absolutely gutted and there's been a few tears!"

Grandparents to miss grandchild's move to college

 Cathriona told Sky News said her grandparents Kevin and Kathleen Heffernan were going to miss her move to college because Ryanair left them stranded in Germany.

She said: "They were supposed to fly out Sunday night back to Dublin and now they have to wait until Thursday with no offer of paying for hotel or transport that is going to be needed for their extra four days.

"They are very upset as I was supposed to be moving away to college on Monday and they were coming with me. Now they are going to miss that milestone.

"They are quite distraught and upset as they have already been away for nearly a week and I think the fact they didn't even get a phone call to explain why has just made them equally angry and upset."

When is the full list of services affected coming out?

The Irish carrier broke the news over the weekend that it was set to cancel as many as 470,000 bookings on “40 to 50 flights daily”. After a delay releasing the full details of those services affected, it now says it will publish a full list on its website by Tuesday.

Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said passengers due to fly on cancelled services would receive an email. “We advise customers to check the email addresses used to make their booking,” he said.

The airline also posted a list of the cancelled flights on its website, but only up to September 20. It said customers whose flights is impacted will receive an email and a text.

The airline says passengers whose flights have been cancelled can either change their flight for free or obtain a refund.

It says that any refund will be “processed within seven working days” and that alternate flights will be “subject to seat availability”. 

Q&A | Ryanair flight cancellations
Q&A | Ryanair flight cancellations