Ryanair branded ‘greedy’ as they deny bereavement refund to mum after son’s tragic death

Tina McDermont, from Washington, had hoped for a four-day break in Spain on August 30 with her husband, but tragedy struck on August 19 when her teenage son Billy lost his life in an accident

A grieving mother was denied a Ryanair refund for her Newcastle to Alicante flight after her 18-year-old son died in a tragic accident – because he passed away “too early”.

Tina McDermont, from Washington, had been looking forward to a four-day Spanish getaway on August 30 with her husband. However, on August 19, her teenage son Billy tragically lost his life in an accident.

Understandably devastated, Tina cancelled their holiday and contacted Ryanair customer support to inform them and request a refund. She had hoped to use the £350 owed for both tickets towards Billy’s funeral expenses.

Under Ryanair’s terms and conditions, passengers may claim travel credit if someone on the booking or an immediate family member (partner/parent/child only) dies within 10 days before the scheduled flight.

Tina was left “disgusted” when she discovered she wouldn’t receive any money back – purely because Billy had died 24 hours outside the policy’s timeframe.

She explained: “Billy’s death was a massive shock. He’d just turned 18. I could never have travelled 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”.

Tina revealed Ryanair requested a copy of Billy’s death certificate, but she found the entire process increasingly distressing during an already heartbreaking period. “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.”

She also revealed the struggle she faced trying to complete the claim form on Ryanair’s website.

“It was raw emotion all the time. It wouldn’t let me complete the form,” she said. “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 buck’.”

Tina claims she was subsequently informed she was ineligible for a refund as Billy’s passing had fallen outside the airline’s 10-day bereavement window.

“If he’d died a day later, I would’ve got my money back. It’s disgusting and petty.

“It was like a slap in the face. It should be done by a case by case basis. It’s a blanket policy, but it isn’t human. I felt very insulted. He wasn’t meant to die. It was a tragic accident, so surely there should be special circumstances. I was devastated. Everybody I’ve dealt with has been compassionate except for them. They’re greedy.”

For Tina, though, this goes far beyond the financial loss of a cancelled holiday. “It’s not about the money. It’s the principle. £350 for a huge company like Ryanair is chicken feed. It’s made the grieving process worse. I’m a mother who’s grieving. It felt very personal and I know the terms and conditions are not.”

Describing the ordeal as “deflating”, Tina is now urging the budget airline to rethink its approach to bereavement cases and introduce more compassionate provisions for extraordinary situations.

“Ryanair needs to change their policies. There needs to be a special circumstances clause for close relatives like children. Have a bit of heart and compassion.”

She added: “I’ll never fly with them again.”

The airline, however, has refused to budge on its stance, insisting Tina did not qualify for travel credit under its current rules. A spokesperson 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.

“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.”