Outrage over the case of the elderly couple charged $140 by a low cost airline in the UK to print their tickets at the airport

Two elderly British men confessed to being “shocked” after Ryanair charged them £110 (about $140) to print their tickets at the airport.

Ruth and Peter Jaffe, aged 79 and 80 respectively, had to pay this surcharge at the airport after accidentally downloading their return tickets instead of the outbound ticketsthey explained to the BBC.

His case sparked a wave of complaints about the low-cost airline’s fares.

Ryanair claimed that these fees were in line with its policy as the couple had not checked in online for the correct flight.

However, according to consumer rights expert Martyn James, the couple’s experience “strikes a nerve” with many others affected by unexpected surcharges.

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an innocent mistake

The Jaffes flew from Stansted Airport in London to Bergerac, France, on Friday.

Ruth Jaffe, 79, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program she found Ryanair’s website “very confusing” but thought she managed to print her tickets correctly the day before the flight.

But when he got to the airport, he realized that I accidentally printed the wrong tickets.

“Then they told me I had to go to the Ryanair counter to get a boarding pass and they charged me £55 (US$70) per person. I felt shocked,” she said.

She added that it was not easy for her husband to walk from one side of the airport to the other. “I was quite nervous and upset.”

Peter Jaffe, 80, explained that they had no choice but to pay what was demanded as people were waiting for them in France.

On Sunday, her daughter posted on the social network X – formerly Twitter – that her mother had made “an innocent mistake”.

“£110 for 2 sheets of paper that took 1 minute to print. What a pity,” he wrote in his message to the low-cost airline.

He added that his parents they also had to pay an additional fee to sit togethersince Peter has a disability.

The post went viral and was viewed more than 13 million times as numerous social media users expressed complaints about the high cost of printing airport boarding passes and other “surprise” charges.

One X user urged Ryanair to “do the right thing” and another argued that “there should be laws to protect the elderly”.

Another user also pointed out that it would have been cheaper to go to the nearest store, buy a printer and print the tickets.

When asked about the countless social media comments, Ruth Jaffe replied: “I think people hate Ryanair.”

“If you’re older and haven’t been brought up with computers from a young age, it can be very difficult,” she said.

The married couple lodged a complaint with RyanairAlthough he expects nothing in return.

“I think he’ll say it’s in the fine print and it was our fault. That’s true, but it was a legitimate mistake,” argued Ms Jaffe.

“It’s Very Unfair”

Expert Martyn James told the BBC the couple’s experience highlights “a real problem” about what happens when, like the Jaffes, you make such a mistake.

“It is very unfair to penalize people who have made an innocent mistake,” he said, adding that airlines should commit not to charge customers in such cases.

He explained that users have a few options if this happens to them. They can file a complaint with the airline, as the Jaffes did, or take it to an alternative dispute resolution body or small claims court.

“But none of this guarantees compensation, and many people don’t have the time or energy to do it,” he said.

At least that’s what he emphasizedif more people complain about the lack of transparency, more airlines will start to reconsider these fees”.

“For years, airlines have been removing things that used to be free and charging for them,” James said.

The case of the elderly couple “strikes a chord with many people because they are angry that they have been given these allowances, be it for luggage, to sit next to their relative or anything else.”

The airline said in a statement: “Under Ryanair’s terms and conditions, which these passengers accepted at the time of booking, they did not check in online before arriving at Stansted Airport (11 August), despite an email reminder (10 August) for online check-in. These passengers have been correctly charged the airport check-in fee (£55 per person).”

“All passengers traveling on Ryanair agree to check in online before arriving at the airport and all passengers will receive an email or text message reminding them to do so 24 hours before departure.”

“We’re sorry these passengers ignored your email reminder and didn’t check in online.”