- Andrew, an amputee, and Victoria, who is autistic, both fell asleep during the flight
- When they woke up, they realized they were landing in the wrong country
A married couple went on holiday to Spain only to wake up and land 1,350 miles away from their destination at the airport.
Andrew Gore and wife Victoria were due to spend a week on the Costa Brava with friends and family to celebrate his 47th birthday.
They had booked Ryanair flights to Barcelona, but the couple – who had special assistance tickets – were guided onto the wrong Ryanair plane instead, unwittingly starting what would be a two-day, 2,750-mile ordeal for the unfortunate couple.
Special assistance teams at Bristol Airport took them onto the plane before it took off on its way to Kaunas, Lithuania – in a very wrong direction for Spain.
Andrew, an amputee, and Victoria, who is autistic, fell asleep during the flight and woke up to find they were in the wrong country – and not with their family.
“I asked the flight attendant if we could sit together because I’m scared of flying,” said Victoria, also 47. “She checked our boarding pass again and put us in the second row,”
“We’ve been away many times and we’ve always had special assistance, so it’s nothing new for us. A minibus took us to the Ryanair plane, they checked our boarding pass and let us onto the plane.
“We didn’t see our family getting on so we asked if they were on board and were assured they were.
“We had a few drinks and then went to bed as we were early risers. When we landed, it was very clear that we were in Lithuania.”
She added: “I was upset and scared. I didn’t stop crying. It was my worst nightmare.’
The couple, from Mountain Ash in South Wales, had to take a 150-mile Uber journey across the border to Riga, Latvia, before they could fly on to Spain.
They told the crew and when the pilot was alerted he became ‘furious’ about the plot and asked the staff to help them on their next journey.
But since there were no direct flights between Kaunas and Barcelona, they had to take a 150 Uber ride the next day to catch their flight to Spain.
However, when they landed in Barcelona, they learned that their luggage had been removed from the original flight because they had not been able to board and had to wait another two days for their luggage.
Victoria said the couple paid more than £1,500 for the tour with Sunshine.co.uk and flew out on May 25.
Victoria said: “I’ve heard of suitcases going to the wrong place but not people. There are so many checks these days. How could it have happened?
“They looked at our boarding passes so many times. It is unbelievable.’
Ryanair has accused ABM, which provides special assistance at Bristol Airport, of a mix-up.
A spokesman said: “These passengers had booked special assistance on this flight from Bristol to Barcelona, but ABM agents put them on the wrong flight to Kaunas, despite the flight destination being clearly marked on the gate.
“Upon arrival at Kaunas Airport, these passengers informed the crew that they were on the wrong flight and Ryanair immediately arranged for both passengers to be accommodated on the next available flight to Barcelona departing from Riga Airport the following morning.
“As these passengers did not board the flight to Barcelona, their luggage was removed from the aircraft in accordance with standard security procedures.
“When it was discovered that these passengers had been misdirected and were diverted to Barcelona, their luggage was quickly transferred from Bristol Airport to Barcelona.
“We sincerely apologize to these passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of the ABM error and have assured them that Bristol Airport will fully compensate them.”
A Bristol Airport spokesman said: “We have been working with our business partners to investigate this incident.
“All customers will have their travel documents checked by the airline or its ground handling agent before boarding the aircraft.
“Since being made aware of the issue, Bristol Airport has been working with our airline handling agent and special assistance provider to investigate the circumstances and implement improvements going forward.
‘We will contact the customer with information to direct their complaint to the correct business partner for resolution.’