Essex gran’s fury after Ryanair ‘refuse to pay Stansted Airport flight refund’ despite having heart attack

An Essex family has shared an important warning to holidaymakers as an elderly grandmother is unable to fly to Spain from Stansted following a heart attack – almost losing out on hundreds of pounds as a result. Thelma Francis, 76, suffered the trauma weeks after she and husband Craig, 69, had booked flights to Murcia with Ryanair.

Thelma was told by doctors in February that she was unable to go on the holiday scheduled for June and issued the grandmother-of-12 with a medical note exempting her from travel. According to the Mirror, medics were unable to say when Thelma would be able to fly again.

But when the pair tried to get a refund for their holiday, they were caught up in a dispute with Ryanair. The couple, from Hullbridge, had not taken out insurance as they usually book it days before they travel, but Ryanair claimed they refunded the couple.

READ MORE: Aristocrat’s dad ‘fuming’ after Stansted Airport Ryanair flight refusal due to passport slip-up

Now they and their family, who’ve helped them fight Ryanair, have warned other holidaymakers travel insurance should be booked early to avoid similar “hassle”. The couple’s daughter-in-law Nicola Barnes, 38, told Mirror: “I’d strongly recommend buying insurance at the time of booking as this will alleviate a lot of hassle they may encounter. I usually do this for myself however my mother and father in law were naïve to the fact that unforeseen circumstances would be such a problem to sort out.”

Travel insurance should be booked as soon as possible regardless of airline, experts say. Martin Lewis, financial guru, reminded viewers of this on This Morning in an interview.

Ryanair issued the couple a credit note for their flights, which cost £382 in total, but doctors were so concerned about Thelma’s health, they were unsure when she could expect the green light for travel. She and Craig, a retired HGV driver, were reticent to book again as a result and wanted their money back. She is still undergoing treatment and taking medication now, nearly three months on after the heart attack.

Craig told The Mirror: “Initially, the letter we sent wasn’t good enough. I was confident a doctor’s note after a heart attack, of all things, would be fine. She can’t fly anywhere this year, let alone this summer, because the hospital needs to be confident it is safe. Doctors aren’t at the moment so that’s why we have the doctor’s note. We need confirmation to say she can fly, and we told Ryanair this.

“It could be really dangerous if she flies anytime soon. It could be critical. They (Ryanair) are not a tiny, little company. They’re a massive company. It wasn’t right.”

Thelma, who is a retired carer, fell ill suddenly at home in February and was dashed to hospital. Craig continued: “We tried different means and through different contacts to sort this as soon as we knew Thelma wouldn’t be able to travel. We’re pensioners, so it was a lot of money to us. We just couldn’t afford to lose that amount of money. We still don’t know when it’ll be safe to fly.”

Days after Daily Mirror spoke to the couple and approached Ryanair, the low-cost airline offered Craig and Thelma a full refund. The couple had stressed to Ryanair they and doctors could not tell when it would be safe for Thelma to travel, so the credit note was of little use.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “These customers booked to fly from Stansted to Murcia on 15 June, however, on 21 Feb, they submitted a refund request due to serious illness and were issued credit for the total cost of their flight. These customer since requested a cash refund instead of credit, which is currently being processed. At no point did Ryanair say this couple ‘must fly’ on this flight from Stansted to Murcia.”

READ NEXT: