Ryanair refuses to give devastated mum refund as son died 11 days before flight

A grieving mum was told she wouldn't be getting a refund from Ryanair after her teenage son died before her flight. Tina McDermott, 45, was due to take a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Alicante for a four-day break in Spain with her husband on August 30. But 11 days before she was set to jet off, on August 19, Billy died in a tragic accident.

Tina, who lives in Washington, Tyne and Wear, said: "Billy's death was a massive shock. He'd just turned 18. I could never have travelled and gone abroad. I just wanted to be at home with my family around me.

"I'm arranging my son's funeral. There's no way I could go. I thought when I got in touch with Ryanair there wouldn't be an issue.” But then she was told his death fell out of Ryanair's "10-day policy" for refunds.

A heartbroken Tina said that Ryanair had demanded a copy of Billy’s death certificate. She continued: ”I thought we'd get that money back and put it towards Billy's funeral and then I hit these barriers because of this 10-day policy that I hadn't been aware of.”

Tina says she struggled to complete the claim form on Ryanair’s website, adding: "It was raw emotion all the time. It wouldn't let me complete the form. I looked at the terms and conditions and thought ‘That doesn't really make sense.’

"I opened a chat on the app and they told me to 'no show' so I could get a letter off them and you can go to your travel insurance and claim off them. I thought ‘That's passing the buck’.”

Tina claims she was told she was ineligible to make a refund claim for the £350 flight due to her son's death falling outside their 10-day cover window. She said: "If he'd died a day later, I would've got my money back. It's disgusting and petty.

"It was like a slap in the face. It should be done by a case by case basis. It's a blanket policy, but it isn't human. I felt very insulted. He wasn't meant to die. It was a tragic accident, so surely there should be special circumstances.

"I was devastated. Everybody I've dealt with has been compassionate except for them. They're greedy.”

Tina expressed her huge disappointment, saying: "It's not about the money. It's the principle. £350 for a huge company like Ryanair is chicken feed.

"It's made the grieving process worse. I'm a mother who's grieving. It felt very personal and I know the terms and conditions are not."

Tina is calling for Ryanair to review bereavement claims on a case by case basis after her 'deflating' experience with the budget airline. She said: "Ryanair needs to change their policies. There needs to be a special circumstances clause for close relatives like children. Have a bit of heart and compassion.”

However Ryanair stood by their policy and said that it was correct that Tina should not be covered.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "Ryanair's bereavement policy allows passengers to apply for travel credit where the death of an immediate family member occurs within 10 days of their scheduled flight departure.