Airline tells grieving mom her son died 24 hours too early to allow her to refund canceled trip
A grieving mother has slammed a budget airline for refusing to refund her flights after she lost her son in a tragic accident.
Tina McDermont wad due to fly with Irish airline Ryanair from Newcastle, UK, to Alicante in Spain on August 30 for a four-day vacation with her husband.
But just 11 days before Tina and her husband were meant to fly out, their 18-year-old son Billy died.
Tina contacted Ryanair in an attempt to cancel her holiday, but she was told by Ryanair she was not eligible for a refund due to Billy passing away more than 10 days before the departure date.
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The airline's policy states you may apply for travel credit if a passenger on a booking or an immediate family member dies within ten days prior of your flight.
Tina, 45, described the policy as a 'slap in the face' and is calling for Ryanair to review their bereavement claims on a case by case basis.
"Billy's death was a massive shock. He'd just turned 18," Tina said. "I could never have travelled and gone abroad. I just wanted to be at home with my family around me."
'It's disgusting and petty'
She went on: "I'm arranging my son's funeral. There's no way I could go. I thought when I got in touch with Ryanair there wouldn't be an issue. I thought we'd get that money back and put it towards Billy's funeral and then I hit these barriers because of this 10-day policy that I hadn't been aware of."
She continued: "If he'd died a day later, I would've got my money back. It's disgusting and petty.
"I felt very insulted. He wasn't meant to die. It was a tragic accident, so surely there should be special circumstances.
"I was devastated. Everybody I've dealt with has been compassionate except for them. They're greedy. It's not about the money. It's the principle. £350 for a huge company like Ryanair is chicken feed."
Tina has called on Ryanair to 'have a bit of heart and compassion', urging the airline to 'change their policies to be a special circumstances clause for close relatives like children'.
Ryanair's response to the unfortunate situation
However, Ryanair has decided to stand by its original decision, meaning Tina will not receive a refund.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told UNILAD: "Ryanair's bereavement policy allows passengers to apply for travel credit where the death of an immediate family member occurs within 10 days of their scheduled flight departure.
"As this bereavement occurred outside of that period, this passenger was not entitled to travel credit.
"This passenger was provided with the documentation required to submit a claim through their travel insurance provider."
Tina went on to say that the struggles to get her money back has made the 'grieving process worse', adding that she feels the way Ryanair has treated her is 'very personal'.
Callum Jones