A SCOTS family have blasted Ryanair after they were ‘abandoned’ in Austria when their flight home took off without its disabled passengers.
Katie Brown, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, says she was left ‘stranded’ in Vienna without her luggage or vital medicine on Friday.
The 25-year-old was heading back to Edinburgh with her dad Graeme and his wife Vikki after a “lovely” Christmas break in the Austrian capital when disaster struck.
The family were escorted to a departure gate by airport staff, along with an 84-year-old passenger who was also in a wheelchair.
But when no crew members showed up to board them, they claim they were told their flight had been cancelled.
It was only later they discovered the plane had actually left without them.
Katie told BBC Scotland News: “The fact that our bags – including my medication – were flown home without us is shocking.
“We were abandoned at a gate and lied to, being told the flight was cancelled when it wasn’t.
“It feels like the airline decided it was cheaper to leave us behind than to risk potentially having to pay a hefty compensation bill for delaying the flight beyond three hours.
“It looks like they made a judgement call to save money at the expense of disabled passengers. It’s disgraceful and has left us feeling completely dehumanised.”
Ryanair allegedly offered the Browns seats on the next available flight – FIVE days later, on New Year‘s Day.
But with Katie’s 26th birthday on Hogmanay, the family forked out for a Jet2 flight home on Sunday instead.
On top of the cost of the alternative flight, they had to splash out for emergency medication, accommodation and clothes in one of Europe‘s priciest cities.
Ryanair flight FR1624 reportedly took off nearly three hours late and landed almost two-and-a-half hours behind schedule, according to flightstats.com.
The airline’s policy states that passengers could be entitled to compensation if their flight is delayed by three hours or more.
But the Browns claim Ryanair refused to take responsibility for the incident and didn’t even apologise, blaming the airport’s special assistance staff instead.
Ryanair has been contacted for comment.
Vienna International Airport has been approached for comment.