Airline Passenger Barred From Boarding Flight With Wheelchair, Asked To 'Look For Another Company'

A Ryanair passenger was barred from boarding flight with her wheelchair and was asked to find another flight by the staff. The passenger suffers from Friedreich's ataxia, a rare genetic disease that causes difficulty walking.

Speaking to local media Wednesday, the passenger, identified as Belen Hueso, said she was flying from Seville to Valencia, Spain, when she was denied boarding pass as her electric wheelchair wouldn’t fit in the hold.

"They told me 'go and look for another company,” she said, adding that she had never heard of the rules.

"Maybe nobody complained or the rules were set up this year,” she said. The exact date of the incident was not known.

The passenger also said that though the airline initially refused to refund her $77, they eventually repaid.

Confirming the same, an airline spokesperson said, “This has been resolved with the customer directly, and a full refund has been processed. Per our terms and conditions, the dimensions of wheelchairs when collapsed must not exceed 81cms (height), 119cms (width) and 119cms (depth). Unfortunately, in this case the customer's wheelchair exceeded these dimensions. We regret any inconvenience caused."