Ryanair warning as woman who booked to fly to Paris ends up in Alicante

Ryanair are warning holidaymakers to double check their boarding gates after a tourist boarded the wrong plane and woke up in Benidorm instead of Paris.

Jem Maybank arrived at Leeds Bradford Airport at 5am ahead of a short city break to Paris.

After smoothly making it through security, the 30-year-old walked towards what she believed was the correct gate for Paris Beauvais Airport where staff scanned and read her boarding pass.

Jem made it onto the plane and was confused to discover her seat number 34A didn't exist but says she was told by cabin crew that this could sometimes happen when the aircraft was switched over.

Ryanair blamed Jem for the error and said it was “each passenger's responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft”. (Image: Kennedy News)

She claims even when she heard the flight was two hours long, rather than the usual hour, she shrugged it off and put it down to turbulence.

After being reassigned a seat, Jem says she didn't hear the announcement and swiftly fell asleep for the whole flight.

It was only when she awoke and spotted the palm trees and mountains outside as they landed that she realised she'd accidentally boarded the wrong flight to Alicante.

Ryanair blamed Jem for the error and said it was “each passenger's responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft”.

Jem, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: "I had a bit of a mad holiday rush.

"I was looking for the gate to Paris Beauvais. I saw it was gate 6 or something, but this was from a distance away.

"I walked towards the gate and just sort of waited in the queue.

"The staff scanned my boarding pass, the QR code, and they did read it. They just let me straight through the gate.

"I didn't see the board or anything, I don't think I was paying attention to be honest.

"I fell asleep, woke up and just saw mountains and palm trees and thought 'this doesn't look like Paris'."

Jem waited until everyone had left the plane before speaking to a member of Ryanair's cabin crew at the end of the plane.

Staff soon helped her to sort a flight for later that evening but she still felt confused how it happened, speculating she may have misread the gate number as six instead of eight.

Jem now advises other holidaymakers to pay more attention at the airport and listen to all the safety announcements - even if they find them 'boring'.

A Ryanair spokesman said: "This passenger booked to travel from Leeds Bradford to Paris on Saturday, June 22, but went through the wrong gate and instead boarded a flight to Alicante.

"It is each passenger's responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft. There are several touchpoints which inform passengers of the aircraft's destination, including gate signage and announcements before every flight departure.

"Upon arrival in Alicante, this passenger notified the crew that they were on the wrong flight and Ryanair immediately arranged for the passenger to be re-accommodated on the next available flight to Paris, which was scheduled to depart Alicante later that same day (22 June)."