Father, John Bigland was diagnosed with rectal cancer back in December 2015. While John lives in Manchester, his son, Sonny lives with his ex-partner Amy in Dublin. John wanted to spend some time with his son over the Christmas period, and so he booked a series of return flights. He would fly out to Dublin on Christmas Eve to spend time with his son, then fly back to England. He planned to return to Dublin after New Year to pick up his young son and bring him to England to visit with his paternal grandparents. The final flights would be to return Sonny to Dublin.
A change of plan for John
Everything was organised and all the tickets were booked, but then he had a surprise phone call. He was told there was a gap in surgery and he could have his much needed emergency cancer treatment in December. Of course John wanted to spend time with his son, but the potentially life saving surgery was more important, to ensure he was around to spend many Christmas’s to come with Sonny.
Requesting a refund from Ryanair
So he underwent his surgery and began his recovery. Of course he couldn’t travel on any of his planned trips, so he asked for a refund. To make sure all was clear, he sent a letter from his surgeon and also a photo of his large scar to prove he was unfit to fly on those dates.
John receives only a partial refund
John was claiming for all three return tickets he had with Ryanair. So he was shocked when they only reimbursed him for two of the flights, and not for the third. On asking Ryanair why this was, why they had refunded him for two flights, but not for the third, they stated that he had provided medical evidence for just two of the flights, and not for the other flight. Due to his illness, John has to manage on disability living allowance, even so, he manages to save up to visit his son in Dublin every month. So it’s no surprise that John was extremely distressed not to get the £65 refund from the third flight. A refund that would be used to travel with Ryanair to visit his son in the future when he is fit enough to fly and has fully recovered from his surgery.
Emily is an avid writer with a passion for the travel industry. She also loves learning and writing about nutrition and healthy living. Emily is based in the UK.
