Woman says she was 'abandoned' at Spanish airport after Ryanair said her hand luggage was too big
17.06.2022 - 15:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A diabetic woman says she was abandoned at an airport in Alicante after Ryanair said she wasn't allowed on the plane home because her hand luggage was 'too big'.
Teresa Bruce spent a five-day trip in Benidorm after travelling from Prestwick Airport. While queueing up for her flight home, she was approached by a Ryanair staff member who claimed her hand luggage was too big to take on board.
The 63-year-old was then told she would need to fork out 69 euros for the suitcase to be placed in hold, even though she travelled with the same case just a few days earlier. The Asda employee from Irvine, Scotland, said she couldn't afford to pay the fee after spending all her cash during the holiday.
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She told the Daily Record: "We were at the gate queuing for priority when a woman came up to me and told me to go with her and bring my suitcase.
"I went with her and she told me my suitcase was too big to go on the plane. I said 'how can it not come on the plane? I travelled here with it'. She told me I would have to pay €69 but it was the end of my holiday and I didn't have any money left.
"I couldn't understand why I needed to pay for the case when I had flown over from Prestwick with it just five days before."
It was vital that Teresa made it home that day because she needed to take medication to treat her Type 2 diabetes. Instead, she was forced to sleep in the airport in what she described as a 'frightening experience'.
"I need to take a jag every Thursday for my Type 2 diabetes and I didn't take it with me as it needs to be refrigerated. I was expecting to get home that day," she continued.
"I asked to speak to a supervisor and said I