A FATHER-OF-ONE has slammed Ryanair for refusing to refund him after cancer surgery forced him to cancel his flight to Ireland.
John Bigland, from Urmston in Greater Manchester, booked three return flights to Dublin to spend time with his toddler Sonny over Christmas.
The 33-year-old, who was diagnosed with rectal cancer in December 2015, booked tickets on November 17 to fly out on Christmas Eve and return on December 27.
He also booked to fly back to Dublin on January 2 to bring his son home to see his grandparents the following day.
His final trip was booked for January 6, to take Sonny home before traveling back to England the day after.
John said he paid for the solo trip in January separately to the one on which he planned to fly with his son.
Weeks after booking the trips, he learned that a space for emergency cancer treatment at a Manchester hospital had become available on December 18.
John needed the operation to remove damage to his pelvis caused by radiation burns to his bowels.
Ryanair said they would not refund Mr Bigland for his third flight with his Irish son.He applied to Ryanair for a refund on all three trips in mid-January, sending the airline a surgeon’s letter proving he was discharged on Christmas Eve along with a photo of his scar.
But John was left shocked after Ryanair refused to refund £65 for his middle flights with Sonny, despite reimbursing him for the first two bookings.
“I miss my son and I hate that I can’t see him,” John told The Sun. “My surgery was planned for 2018 but I had no idea I would be operated on that soon.
“I can’t fathom why they rejected one of the refunds ... The evidence I gave them for all three was the same and it’s frustrating because you can’t even talk to a human.
“It’s not even the amount. I know that £65 is not a lot to most people but that’s not the point. I was only going to use it to book another flight”.
He added: “To be treated the way I have is just out of order”.
After a number of email exchanges with Ryanair, John said he received a final response on Friday in which the airline sympathised with his view but refused to change their decision.
A spokesman for Ryanair has since said claims must be accompanied by “appropriate medical documentation” and, in this case, it was “provided for two different claims ... but not the third”.
John said his refund money would be used to pay for another Ryanair flight to see his son, as he does at least once a month since his birth.
“They won't even be losing out,” he said. “To some people £65 is a drop in the ocean, but it's not when you're on disability living allowance.
“It's not like I'm out partying with my money at the moment – I only use it to see my son.
“Me and my ex-partner are loyal customers who've been going back and forth for the best part of five years.”
Mr Bigland explained that he moved to Ireland in January 2015 to work as a security guard at Dublin Airport, around eight months after his then-girlfriend Amy gave birth to Sonny.
His cancer diagnosis 11 months later put an understandable strain on his relationship with Amy.
He said: “I moved over there to start a new life: House, kids, work – the lot. I just wanted to be with Amy and my son.
“I moved my entire life from Manchester to Dublin and then my whole world fell apart. We couldn’t have any more kids and the pressure became too much. I FaceTime Sonny everyday but I’m just not fit enough to fly."
In a statement, Ryanair said: “Any claim like this must be accompanied by the appropriate medical documentation.
"That documentation was provided for two different claims for this customer but not the third and the two valid claims were processed. When the required documentation is provided, we will review it and provide a refund if the claim is valid.
“Our customer service teams work hard to process all claims fairly and quickly but all claims must be supported with the required documentation.”
