An accountant claims she 'almost died' when Ryanair 'trapped' her on a grounded flight with broken air con during an asthma attack and fainted.
Charlaine Seaward says she was returning from a girls holiday at Tenerife, Spain, last month [Jan 14] when she unknowingly boarded a plane unable to take off due to an air conditioning fault. The 24-year-old claims that after around 45 minutes stuck in the cabin, the stuffy air caused her to hyperventilate and have an asthma attack.
When her inhaler stopped working she says she asked staff if she could leave the aircraft to get some fresh air but they refused. Charlaine claims the attack got worse and she passed out in a seat at the front of the plane, only to wake up while receiving treatment from medics. She says staff wanted her to get off the flight but when she refused they gave her the oxygen tank to use. The accountant "believed she was going to die" while the attack was at its worst and believes staff should have let her leave the plane before she passed out.
Charlaine says she's been refunded £50 for the flight but would like compensation for the terrifying experience on the grounded aircraft. She posted an angry rant on Facebook to warn travellers never to fly with the budget airline and claimed other panicked passengers 'feared for their lives' in the conditions too.
Ryanair confirmed the flight was delayed due to a 'minor technical issue' and to 'minimise disruption', passengers remained onboard while engineers serviced the aircraft. The airline claimed that as medics declared her fit to fly and she took the flight, Charlaine is not entitled to a refund but she is entitled to €261 for the delay.
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The oxygen tank she had to use on the flight (Kennedy News and Media)
Accountant Charlaine Seaward had to use an oxygen tank while on board (Kennedy News and Media)Charlaine, from Caerphilly, Wales, said: "We were on the plane for around 45 minutes before I started hyperventilating and getting really flustered. I realised it was getting hot in there but nobody seemed to know why we were waiting. When I asked, they told me there's no air con so I said 'I can tell. It's really warm, can I step off the plane for a minute?'. I told them I was struggling to breathe and my inhaler had stopped working. By this point I'd taken nine pumps of my inhaler.
"I started really freaking out and then my breathing got so much worse so they sat me at the front of the plane. They told me they couldn't take me off the plane because it was a health and safety hazard but being on the plane was a health and safety hazard too. It was hurting my chest to breathe and I think that's when I passed out because I stopped myself from breathing. I don't remember much after that because I woke up with an oxygen mask on my face and by that point we were around two hours delayed.
"I realise complications happen but they knew the air con wasn't working so they shouldn't have let anyone on until it works. They were the worst asthma attacks I've ever had and they were going on for so long. I was fearing for my life. If they think my life is worth £50 then they've got another thing coming."
Charliane says she insisted she'd stay on the flight because she had work the next day, didn't have anywhere to stay and would have had to claim on her insurance. She says she was told to use the oxygen tank throughout the flight, which she did, but thankfully the air conditioning was fixed prior to take off.
The accountant had been in Tenerife for a girl's holiday (Kennedy News and Media)Charlaine, who started getting asthma symptoms around five years ago, claims she applied for a flight refund the following day. However, the 24-year-old says she was surprised to see her claim rejected as they had no record of her being on the flight. After complaining "every day for a month" she was refunded £50 for the flight but says she hasn't received any compensation for her health scare. Before getting the refund she posted an angry complaint to Facebook on Jan 31.
Charlaine post said: "Ryanair is an ABSOLUTE joke. DO NOT FLY WITH THEM. EVER. It's all cheap and cheerful until they almost kill you and take zero responsibility. I got trapped on their plane with no air conditioning and due to this I had the most severe asthma attack of my life. I genuinely believed I was going to die. I asked to be removed from the plane and I was refused even though the plane wasn't taking off any time soon.
"As you can imagine 200 people breathing the same oxygen in and out for a THREE HOUR DELAY is very dangerous, ESPECIALLY when you have extreme health conditions. I physically passed out and had to wear an oxygen tank because it was THAT bad. I witnessed six different groups of people including young children have panic attacks, hyperventilate and fearing for their life.
Medics seen treating the 24-year-old after she passed out (Kennedy News and Media)"Every other passenger I have spoken to had a compensation pay-out for the delay and this cheeky company is trying to tell me I was never on the plane? If anyone deserves compensation IT'S THE GIRL YOU ALMOST KILLED. THAT'S ME BTW, you know.. THE GIRL WHO WAS DEFINITELY ON YOUR PLANE.
The accountant took to social media to slam the budget airline (Kennedy News and Media)"Despite giving Ryanair everything they asked for, like my boarding pass, photo evidence of being seen to and videos of the oxygen tank, I've been passed around from agent to agent more times than a gift in pass the parcel. It's still got me nowhere. 'Case closed' apparently. absolute jokers. Look at all the evidence I have and tell me I wasn't on the flight."
A Ryanair spokesperson said: "This flight from Tenerife to Bristol (14 Jan) was delayed ahead of take-off due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft. To minimise disruption, passengers remained onboard while engineers serviced the aircraft, during which time this passenger became ill, and crew requested medical assistance. This passenger was treated onboard and provided with oxygen and crew offered to disembark her, but she chose to stay on the flight and received medics clearance to do so.
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"This passenger submitted a refund request on 21 Jan, which was responded to on 1 Feb. As she travelled on this flight from Tenerife to Bristol (14 Jan), she is not entitled to a refund. However, as the delay exceeded 3 hrs, she is entitled to 261 euros compensation, which was processed on 2 Feb, as advised to this passenger via email on 1 Feb. However Charlaine claims she has not received any promise of 261 euros and has only got £50."
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