A widow was met with a horrible customer care experience from Ryanair following her husband’s death. Yvonne Shields, who was trying to cancel the tickets her spouse had booked in hopes of a refund, was greatly inconvenienced by the airline’s customer service.
Yvonne’s husband, Colin, was chosen to represent Scotland in a powerchair football match. The man had become tetraplegic after an unfortunate accident that took place 14 years ago. For the match, Colin had hired two carers to accompany him on his trip.
He had to pay for his ticket as well as the carers’ tickets before the journey. Unfortunately, Colin passed away in April due to a bleed in his brain. “He booked them through a company, it’s not like it’s personal carers, we don’t know these people,” Colin’s wife, Yvonne, explained, as per Tyla.
When the widow reached out to Ryanair, they told her that she was only eligible for a refund on her late husband’s flight tickets. The woman was assured she would receive a refund worth £258. The airline informed her that giving her a refund for the carers’ tickets would be a violation of the company’s policy.
After waiting for weeks, Yvonne realised that she hadn’t even been refunded for her husband’s tickets. This prompted the mother of two to reach out to the airline once again. She was met with even more disappointment when the airline told her that she would not be able to receive a refund if the original booker did not reach out to them.
Yvonne informed the airline that her husband, who had booked the tickets, had passed away and even shared his death certificate with them. To no avail, the airline still refused to give her a refund for the tickets.
A widow was left in tears when Ryanair refused to refund her dead hubby’s £827 flights – telling her he needed to complain from beyond the grave https://t.co/Emrt6z3M2J
— The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) July 28, 2025
“I told them back in April that he passed, so there should be no reason why they can’t refund it,” Shields shared. She went on to add how she couldn’t get in touch with the carers either because their contracts had already ended.
“They said ‘I can’t disclose any information with someone not tied to the booking’, even though they were discussing it with me in the past. They said ‘we would need the passengers to contact us to process’, but I don’t have passengers to contact,” Yvonne recalled.
The mother of two shared how she “burst into tears” because of her experience with Ryanair’s customer service. She spoke about how she has had to deal with a lot since her husband’s death. The company’s unwillingness to help out with the booking made matters worse for her.
“I’ve got two kids as well, 14 and 17, and it’s dealing with their emotions as well,” Shields admitted. The mother of two noted how her interactions with the airline have been “infuriating.” She added, “It’s like bashing your head on a brick wall. They’re trying to speak to someone that isn’t here, it’s an unreasonable request.”
“You feel like you are nothing,” Yvonne disheartenedly admitted after being unable to receive a refund. She also spoke about how “frustrating” and “devastating” the whole process had been.
After the woman’s story was reported by Kennedy News & Media, a spokesperson for the airline reached out to address the unfortunate incident and offered to help regarding the refund.
