A PENSIONER has told of his disgust after being left stranded in Spain when Ryanair cancelled his flight at the last minute.

Keith Day, 77, of Bridport, was taking a short break to Palma and was booked on a return flight to Bournemouth with the budget airline on Sunday, October 23 at 7.30pm local time.

Upon arrival at the airport to fly home to the UK, Mr Day was told the flight had been delayed due to aircraft technical issues and was then told it was cancelled. 

Ryanair provided a hotel in Palma for passengers and transport to it, but Mr Day was told that he would have to find his own way home.

Mr Day, who has worked for several international airlines, said: “We were told to collect our bags and had to go through passport control and headed to the Ryanair desk where they said there is a hotel available if you want.

“Ryanair refused to help passengers find alternative flights home, there may have been over 160 passengers involved, many were elderly and were struggling to deal with the situation, others had young children and some passengers were in tears.

“It’s not what I would expect from an international airline - I am disgusted with the way it was treated.”

Some 21 hours later than planned, Mr Day arrived home having travelled to Gatwick airport via an EasyJet flight followed by a train journey and taxi ride to Bridport.

He added: “I am hoping to recover all air, rail and taxi fares from Ryanair.”

Mr Day is also considering starting an online petition to request the Secretary of State for Transport to conduct a review of Ryanair's Foreign Carrier Operating Permit following the events.

Ryanair has been contacted for comment. 

It is stated on Ryanair’s flight disruption page that ‘We deeply regret the inconvenience of flight cancellations and we’ll try our best to minimize the impact of these disruptions. If your flight is cancelled there are two options available to you to choose from. You can either apply for a refund or change your cancelled flight for free.’

You can find out more about Ryanair’s cancellation policy here: https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360017824958-Flight-Cancellations