Janine Hadley, Ryanair Passenger, Threatened With Arrest

A female Ryanair passenger was allegedly threatened with arrest when she refused to vacate an overbooked flight Sunday.

Janine Hadley, 27, was on a flight from Faro, Portugal to Manchester, England when an announcement over the PA system asked her to make herself known to the flight crew. After doing so, she claims she was ordered to leave the plane, reports the Daily Mail.

Hadley wasn't told why she was chosen to be asked to leave, and says she was threatened with arrest if she didn't. She spent an hour arguing for her spot on the plane, supported by other passengers, but was eventually warned that the police were on their way to remove her from the flight, according to the Manchester Evening News.

Soon thereafter, another announcement was made offering €300 to any passenger who willingly bumped themselves from the flight. A man accepted the offer and the plane took off with Hadley on board.

“It was the most uncomfortable hour of my life. I was told I was holding the entire plane up and they tried to intimidate me but I refused to give in," she said. "I will never fly with Ryanair again. It was very distressing."

Hadley complained to the airline Monday. The overbooking turned out to be the result of a mix-up.

Apparently one family had booked a flight, claiming their child was an infant, which could have flown on an adult's lap. But it was later realized by Ryanair that the child was more than two years old, meaning it legally needed its own seat.

“Our handling agents, rather than offloading a family group of six people, wrongly attempted to offload Ms Handley, as they believed she was the last to board the aircraft,” an official told the Manchester Evening News.

Ryanair has apologized to Hadley, saying the incident violated airline procedures as Ryanair has a policy of not overbooking flights.

Photo: Tom Raftery/Flickr

Comments

[fordgarye]

11:57 PM on 10/24/2011

Who is their right mind would want to fly on an airline that seriously contemplated selling standing room on flights, or considered putting pay toilets on their aircraft. As it is now, they are wanting to remove toilet facilities on planes so that they can put in a few more seats. I seriously hope some of their passengers take a big dump in the aisle. I don't think I would ever fly Ryan Air, regardless of how cheap the fares were - I'm too concerned about actually getting to the destination alive.

[PalinEffect]

12:25 AM on 10/13/2011

MORONS. They have their standing room only flight plan all ready to go, and what a perfect opportunity to give it a shot.
Reason for this mess - Ryanair hires ticket agents as staff literally ready to do every single task involved except for refueling and actually flying the plane. Seriously: De-icing. Cleaning. Boarding cattle prod wielding. Etc.

[heboprotagonist]

10:14 PM on 09/14/2011

The lying family should've been escorted off the plane.

[dknowles60]

12:42 PM on 10/24/2011

great one

[raptureready1958]

05:09 PM on 09/14/2011

That is the airline's fault. They always over book intentionally.Everyone of them do that. If you reserve a flight and paid for it, you should be allowed to stay on that flight.

[yank42ees]

04:30 PM on 09/14/2011

Did they charge the lying/cheating parents the price of a same day ticket for the child, which is usually very expensive?

[KIVPossum]

02:30 PM on 09/14/2011

Should have kicked off the parents who lied about this child's size.

[raegrant5]

03:02 PM on 09/14/2011

YES! EXACTLY!

[jackiwhitford]

01:32 PM on 09/14/2011

They should have humiliated the parents who lied about their kid. The airline apologized is that it? Really? This is why I hate flying.

[treebeardzz]

06:29 PM on 09/14/2011

At the very least, the dishonest family should have been given the choice of one adult booking a later flight at full same-day-purchase price or forfeiture of entire family's tickets. The family SHOULD have been charged with attempted theft of services. The airline erred in siding with a group of dishonest people and against an honest, innocent person.I would definitely be filing a lawsuit for $1,000,000 for extortion and intimidation by threat of illegal imprisonment , and demand the right to a jury trial with public verdict-NO negotiated, sealed-out-of-court-settlement. Make them PAY, make it HURT, and make it PUBLIC. That is the most effective way to stop unacceptable/criminal treatment of customers.

[dknowles60]

12:43 PM on 10/24/2011

good one

[rich3324]

01:14 PM on 09/14/2011

Give the kid a sandwich and let him wait for the next flight.

[Hnorc]

12:56 PM on 09/14/2011

They should have removed the family for lying about the child.

[Sheila Caldwell Rushing]

12:40 PM on 09/14/2011

I'm so glad that I don't fly anymore, but I do feel sorry for those that have no choice but to fly. You hear everyday about passengers being treated badly because of some mix up.

[KIVPossum]

02:37 PM on 09/14/2011

There are thousands upon thousands of commercial flights each day. When something goes awry on any one it makes headline news. I am a somewhat regular flyer and have never had a bad experience. Usually I am treaded with greater courtesy and competency by the airlines than the hotel, resturants or rental care companies I patronize when I get to my destination

[heboprotagonist]

10:18 PM on 09/14/2011

Wow, you must have really excellent karma. I also fly regularly and despite my attempt to ask for little and expect less, I'm almost always disappointed in the flight crew. Doesn't matter which airline or airport, they all treat customers like captive livestock. I usually get more respect from the TSA.

[pepper1311]

11:30 AM on 09/14/2011

This was done years ago when there was 'stand by' seats sold.