Ryanair at Pisa
I am just recovering from the most unpleasant journey home courtesy of Ryanair. I was due to depart from Pisa yesterday{Thursday} at 1115 am to Liverpool. Whilst waiting to clear passport control, we heard that two flights to the Uk one with Easyjet and the other with Thomsonfly had been diverted to Genoa due to fog and that passengers would be transported there by road and pick up their respective flights. Unfortunately this was not the case with Ryanair.They cancelled their two flights to Liverpool and Prestwick. We were then forced to queue for three hours to be told that our alternative flight to Liverpool would be on the following Tuesday{five days later} due to lack of availability. There were also no flights available from any other Italian airport to the Uk for at least another two days. It is difficult to describe the scene at the airport but many people were stressed, in tears, families were struggling and receiving no assistance or priority. My mother was anxious as she did not have enough medication for another five days in Italy and so on. Having worked as cabin crew for eleven years I appreciate that flying programmes can frequently be disrupted due to bad weather, however I strongly object to the poor customer service received. It is not acceptable to be given alternative flights five days later. Low cost should not equate to zero customer service.
Fortunately we opted to wait at the airport for twelve hours for a standby flight to Stansted and got on. A night in Stansted and £90 each later for a train to Manchester and we were home.
This is just a warning-that cheap flight with Ryanair might not work out to be as cheap as you thought if the airline decides to abandon you so as not to disrupt the flying programme.
{The flight was not cheap for many people before everyone starts to tell me you get what you pay for!}
Has anyone else had a similar experience?