A woman in a wheelchair, scheduled to fly to Bristol, missed her Ryanair flight after allegedly being overlooked by special assistance personnel at a bustling Spanish airport.
The traveler was stranded in the accessible passenger lounge at Terminal 1 of Lanzarote Airport on May 12 and had to spend the night on the Canary Island before catching her Ryanair flight the next day, as reported by local media.
While waiting to be escorted to the boarding gate, her initial flight departed without her.
The incident has been attributed in reports to the high workload faced by subcontractors working for Spain’s state-owned airport operator, Aena. The assistance service is managed by a company named Mitie.
Aena confirmed that an investigation is currently underway regarding the incident. Sources within the airport operator informed local newspaper La Voz de Lanzarote that they would take necessary actions as per the existing contract terms and service levels.
Although the nationality of the affected vacationer was not disclosed, she is believed to be of British origin. It remains unclear whether she was traveling alone or accompanied by family or friends.
In a similar incident in March last year, two elderly passengers, who had requested mobility assistance at Lanzarote Airport, were left behind and missed their easyJet flight to Liverpool. Witnesses reported that the pair experienced significant distress.
The incident was linked at the time to severe shortcomings in the management of the assistance service, with workers complaining about challenging working conditions including long hours, staff shortages, and continual pressure.
The Mirror has reached out to Aena and Mitie for their comments on the matter.