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Family hits out at treatment by carrier after Belfast woman was unable to fly due to critical illness
Andrea Montagner (48), who lives in Belfast but is from Italy, was due to fly home to visit his parents along with his wife and two of their three children on June 13.
However, Cristiane Ferreira (45) contracted Covid and became critically ill within days of making the booking a month earlier.
Despite a letter from a doctor confirming she was in hospital fighting for her life, the airline has refused a refund.
Cristiane Ferreira
Ms Ferreira was released from hospital before the flight but was unable to travel.
“We booked the flights on May 9 and then my wife got Covid,” Mr Montagner explained.
“Initially the symptoms were like flu, but then she started to have serious problems with her kidneys and her blood pressure.
“It was really scary. She was admitted to the intensive care ward at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.”
There were moments when the IT adviser thought she would not survive.
“The hospital phoned me one morning and told me it was not looking good,” he said.
“I didn’t think she was going to make it, but she miraculously came around.”
He decided to proceed with the flight from Belfast International to Milan (Bergamo) with his 20-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.
Mr Montagner left them with their grandparents in Verona and returned to be with his wife, who had been discharged from hospital but was advised not to fly by medics.
Cristiane Ferreira and her family
Ryanair’s website states tickets are “generally non-refundable” but does list potential exceptions, including “if you or someone on your booking is seriously ill or passes away before your trip”.
“I had been assured we would get a refund for Cristiane’s unused flight after I filled in the forms online and sent a letter from the hospital,” Mr Montagner explained.
“But after 15 days I had not received it. When I contacted customer service again they said I couldn’t get my money back because the letter was not sufficient.”
The Belfast Telegraph has seen the official correspondence from the Belfast Trust signed by a medic. It confirmed Ms Ferreira was in the ICU “where she remains critically ill”.
Mr Montagner said he is very disappointed in how the low fare airline had treated him and his wife “just to keep £30”.
He added: “I’m sad and genuinely upset by it. This isn’t about the money for us, it’s about their attitude — how many other people are they doing this to?
“I am a frequent flyer and have travelled with Ryanair quite a lot, but this has made me reconsider using them again.”
Ryanair said the passengers booked a non-refundable promotional air fare.
“We do not treat cases of Covid (one month earlier in May) as an illness that qualifies for a refund of a non-refundable ticket,” the carrier said.
“This is why we recommend that all passengers take out travel insurance to cover routine medical illness cases such as this.”
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