Billy McDermont, 18, died in a tragic accident on August 19, just days before his mother was due to fly to Alicante with Ryanair. Heartbroken and unable to go on the trip, Tina McDermont canceled her ticket – but says the airline refused to give her money back.
Tina McDermont, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, had a trip planned to Alicante with Ryanair on August 30, but a tragic turn of events stopped her from going. Her 18-year-old son, Billy, died suddenly on August 19, and the heartbroken mother decided to cancel her vacation.
But despite the circumstances, Tina says Ryanair refused to refund her £350 ticket because her son died just “24 hours too soon.”
The company’s terms state that customers can apply for travel credit if an immediate family member dies within 10 days of their booked flight. Because Billy died 11 days before Tina’s scheduled departure, she says she was unable to receive a refund or travel credit.
“Billy’s death was a massive shock. He’d just turned 18,” she said, according to LADbible. “I could never have traveled 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.”
Hoped the money would pay for Billy’s funeral
Tina 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.
“[After they sent me a link requesting his death certificate] I couldn’t get any further forward because they kept requesting the date of death. It was really starting to agitate me.
“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 book. If he’d died a day later, I would’ve got my money back. It’s disgusting and petty.”
“Ryanair needs to change their policies”
For Tina, the dispute over the ticket came as she was already dealing with the loss of her son and making arrangements for his funeral.
In her opinion, “Ryanair needs to change their policies” and “have a bit of heart and compassion.”
Ryanair, however, says its bereavement policy does not apply in Tina’s circumstances.
A spokesperson for Ryanair 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,” according to LADbible.
“As this bereavement occurred outside of that period, this passenger was not entitled to travel credit.
“This passenger was provided with the documentation required to submit a claim through their travel insurance provider.”
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