Couple mistakenly ends up 1200 km from intended destination
A British couple ended up, by a series of strange coincidences, in Spain instead of the UK with their [...]
Ryanair
A British couple ended up, through a series of strange coincidences, in Spain instead of the UK on their Ryanair plane.
In this article:
Sometimes it happens that you get on the wrong vehicle and miss your destination. If we're talking about a bus or a train, the problem isn't that big of a deal-just get off as soon as you can and change modes. When you find yourself on an airplane, however, the situation is a bit more intricate. That's what happened to Elise Mallia and her partner Jessy Jezequel, a British couple who, having concluded a vacation in France, hoped to return to London at a leisurely pace. Instead, she ended up finding herself in Madrid, without anyone having noticed beforehand that their ticket included another destination.
Couple swaps London for Madrid
After a trip to France, Elise and Jessy had boarded their Ryanair plane from Marseille to return to London-a trip like any other, but one that had an unexpected ending for the couple. The two went through all the regular checks at the French airport, all the way to boarding the plane and sitting in the seats indicated by their tickets, without suspecting the error that loomed over them.
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
"About an hour into the flight," Elise explained, "Jessy told me she heard a flight attendant say we were headed to Madrid, but we thought she had dreamed it. After a while, however, we started to notice that all the flight staff spoke Spanish."
Too late. When, after a while longer, the plane finally landed, the British couple got confirmation that they had incredibly taken the wrong flight, and were not in London, but in Madrid. "We have no idea how this was possible," the woman's account continues, "we had our boarding passes scanned three times before we got on the plane.
Ryanair's explanation
Eventually, Elise and Jessy were able to return to London. The circumstances under which they landed more than 1,200 kilometers away from their destination remain a mystery. A Ryanair spokesperson tried to explain the incident, "Mr. Jezequel and Ms. Mallia boarded the flight from Marseille to London Stansted through the correct gate. However, they did not follow the correct route to their plane. They passed through an unauthorized area and mistakenly boarded a flight leaving for Madrid. On board, they were both able to occupy the seats marked on their original tickets, since the flight was not fully booked, and so they could not realize the mistake in time."
"An announcement advising passengers of the final destination and arrival time is always made before departure," the flight company spokesperson continued, "and this should have alerted Mr. Jezequel and Ms. Mallia that they were on the wrong plane. In the end, the couple was able to catch a plane to London the same day, thanks to the support of Ryanair staff, but they will definitely be more careful next time: "It is the responsibility of each passenger to make sure they board the correct plane."
