A grieving UK mother has labeled Ryanair “inhumane” after they refused to refund her canceled flight because her teen son passed away a day too early to qualify.
“It was like a slap in the face,” Tina McDermont told Kennedy News while recalling the “disgusting” and “petty” move.
The 45-year-old civil servant and her husband had been slated to fly the budget carrier from Newcastle to Alicante, Spain on August 30 for a four-day vacation.
However, they were forced to cancel the trip after their son Billy died in an undisclosed tragic accident at just 18 years old.
“Billy’s death was a massive shock,” said McDermont. She added that there was “no way” she could’ve taken the trip while arranging her son’s funeral.
Plus, she just wanted to be at home with her “friends and family.”
The grieving mother subsequently logged onto the Ryanair website to request a refund for the £350 ($467) they’d paid for the flight. She assumed there “wouldn’t be an issue” given the circumstances.
McDermont was understandably flabbergasted upon discovering that her son’s death fell outside the airline’s window of coverage.
“I hit these barriers because of this 10-day policy that I hadn’t been aware of,” exclaimed McDermont. “[After they sent me a link requesting his death certificate] I couldn’t get any further forward because they kept requesting the date of death. It was really starting to agitate me.”
The bereaved Brit subsequently called the airline, which confirmed that her son’s death had barely missed the refund cutoff.
“If he’d died a day later, I would’ve got my money back,” lamented McDermont. “It’s a blanket policy, but it isn’t human.”
She added, “It should be done [on] a case-by-case basis.”
The “outraged” mom was doubly “devastated” as she had planned to use the money to help pay for Billy’s funeral.
“It’s not about the money. It’s the principle,” McDermont fumed. “£350 for a huge company like Ryanair is chicken feed. They’re greedy.”
The distraught parent contacted Ryanair again, hoping that they’d reconsider, but to no avail, as the carrier stood by its policy.
“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,” an airline rep explained. “As this bereavement occurred outside of that period, this passenger was not entitled to travel credit.”
They added, “This passenger was provided with the documentation required to submit a claim through their travel insurance provider.”
McDermont is now using her plight as a cautionary tale against flying the budget carrier.
“Ryanair needs to change their policies,” she vented. “There needs to be a special circumstances clause for close relatives like children. Have a bit of heart and compassion.”
The “deflated” parent has vowed to “never fly” Ryanair again
This wouldn’t be the first time the airline has charged a bereaved passenger a cancellation fee.
In 2024, a grieving UK woman blamed Ryanair for charging her around $140 to amend a booking on behalf of her sister — even though she died before the trip.
“I just feel it is absolutely disgusting to be paying that much,” Anita Kozłowska, 36, told BPM Media.
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