Discount airlines have long been accused of adding hidden fees to low-fare tickets, whether it’s for selecting a seat, bringing certain-sized carry-on luggage, or even for food and beverage selection, which is usually complimentary.
But one elderly couple who flew with RyanAir last week was shocked to find that they were charged an extra $120 ( £110) for their flight from London to France — just to print their boarding passes.
The daughter of Ruth, 79, and Peter Jaffe, 80, took to X to slam the Europe-based discount airline about her parents’ experience, claiming that the couple had accidentally downloaded the wrong boarding pass on their mobile devices, so they were forced to print the physical tickets once they arrived at London Stansted Airport on August 11.
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Hey @Ryanair, my parents who are in their 70s and 80s, had accidentally downloaded the return flight boarding card instead of the outgoing ones and you charged them £110 to print them at the airport. £110 for 2 pieces of paper which took 1 minute. Shame on you
— Old School House Venosc ? (@old_school_alps) August 13, 2023
“£110 for 2 pieces of paper which took 1 minute,” she wrote in a Tweet that’s been viewed over 13.6 million times. “Shame on you.”
Ryanair responded via X, asking the daughter to try to get in contact with the airline through alternate methods after claiming their DMs were “unavailable.”
“My mum made a mistake while trying to check in,” the daughter said in response. “You told her she wouldn’t sit next to her disabled husband if she didn’t pay extra so she tried. It then checked her in for the return flight only. They sat separately after paying £110.”
According to Ryanair’s check-in policy, passengers who wish to check in at the airport (instead of ahead of time) are subject to a $60 (£55) fee.
“You can check in for your flight at the airport, but you will have to pay an airport check-in fee per passenger to cover the extra cost of the airport check-in service,” the airport’s policy states.
The airline maintained the policy in a statement via X, explaining that the Jaffes should have received an email or text message reminding them to check in ahead of time in order to avoid the fees.
https://t.co/UbGaub0WAD pic.twitter.com/GywErHbZmO
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) August 14, 2023
“All passengers traveling with Ryanair agree to check in online before arriving at their departure airport and all passengers are sent an email/SMS, reminding them to do so 24 hours before departure,” the statement read. “We regret that these passengers ignored their email reminder and failed to check in online.”
Still, X users were outraged by the mountainous fees.
“I have parents of same age group,” one user wrote. “I can feel the rage.”
Others, however, sided with the airline and the outlined policy.
“They set out their rules very clearly in advance,” another said bluntly. “If you don’t want to play the game don’t book with them.”
Ryanair did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur’s request for comment.
The airline was up over 32% year-over-year as of Wednesday afternoon.
