A Ryanair passenger refused to move for a crying boy after an 'IT glitch' saw the seat double booked.
The family of little Ryan Bandli say he can get anxious and upset if he's not sitting by a window, so they forked out to reserve a specific spot on the plane run by the budget airline's subsidiary Buzz.
But when they boarded in Budapest, Hungary, they found a woman sitting in it. She showed them her identical seat reservation and refused to move, prompting the flight attendants to usher Ryan to an aisle seat.
READ MORE: Ryanair travellers warned about fee for 'no go period' this week
Ryan's mum Adri, who said her son is "very reactive" and struggles in stressful situations, said the flight attendant had "begged them" to give their reserve seat up, Mirror UK reports.
Ryanair has said the seat was not sold twice, but that the issue came about because of a "computer glitch", and has now refunded Adri the reservation cost.
Speaking to Mirror UK, mum Adri explained: "Ryan was really upset and anxious and he cried. He didn't understand how this could happen. We sat separately and it was really stressful. How can something like this happen?"
The seat debacle took place at the end of August when Adi, Ryan and his dad were flying into Manchester Airport, to get home to Stoke-on-Trent.
Knowing how nervous flying made Ryan, Adi forked out for three different seat reservations to ensure that they'd all be sitting together.
Failure to pay for a specific seat on a Ryanair flight - which can cost between €3 and €14 - could see you separated from your party and in the middle seat.
"Ryan likes to sit next to the window," Adi said. "It calms him down a bit and he likes to lean his head against the wall."
While the discovery of someone else in your seat may be little more than an inconvenience for some, for Ryan it was very stressful.
"My poor child was crying. People gave him sweets and were so kind," Adi said.
Since landing Adi has been pushing Ryanair for an explanation and compensation. She claims the airline rejected the request and told her that the seat was given to someone else as it was by an emergency exit.
"The CAA requires that UK airlines have procedures to ensure that customers are seated where, in the event that an emergency evacuation is required, they may best assist and not hinder evacuation from the aeroplane," a Ryanair employee wrote to Adi.
"Only those customers who appear reasonably fit, strong and able to assist the rapid evacuation of the aeroplane in an emergency should be allocated seats that permit direct access to emergency exits."
Under the rules, child are not considered suitable passengers to sit by the exit. Adi says they were not sat in an emergency exit row.
She has also questioned why they were able to book seats in the first place, and why they weren't allocated a row with a window seat elsewhere.
Referring to the company's Polish subsidiary, a spokesperson for Ryanair said: "This Buzz passenger’s seat was not sold twice; this misunderstanding was as a result of an isolated IT glitch. Unfortunately as the flight was fully booked, there were no other window seats available.
"Buzz regrets the inconvenience caused to Ms. Bandli and her son and a member of our customer services team will contact them directly."
Meanwhile, Ryanair flyers are being advised of planned maintenance on the airline's website and app from 6pm on Tuesday, November 8 until 5am on Wednesday, November 9.
During this 11-hour period, passengers will not be able to check in online and are being advised to do so in advance.
A notice on the Ryanair Ireland website reads: "Due to planned maintenance, Ryanair website / app will be temporarily down from 18.00hrs Tue, 8 – 05.00hrs Wed, 9 Nov.
"Customers who are due to fly during this 11-hour period should check-in online before 18.00hrs on Tue, 8 Nov."
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