A woman in a wheelchair bound for Bristol was stranded at a bustling Spanish airport after assistance staff allegedly forgot about her, causing her to miss her scheduled Ryanair flight.
The traveler was abandoned 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 a flight with Ryanair the next day, as per local reports.
While she waited to be escorted to the boarding gate, her original flight departed without her, leading to the unfortunate situation.
This mishap has been attributed to the high workload faced by subcontractors working for Spain’s state-owned airport provider, Aena, which oversees the assistance service managed by a company called Mitie.
Aena confirmed an ongoing investigation into the incident, stating that they would take appropriate actions as required by the existing contract and service standards.
Although the nationality of the affected holidaymaker was not disclosed, she is believed to be of British origin. It remains unclear whether she was traveling alone or accompanied by companions.
This incident echoes a similar event from last year when two elderly passengers requiring special assistance at Lanzarote Airport were also left behind, missing their easyJet flight to Liverpool and causing distress. Reports at the time highlighted significant operational shortcomings in the assistance service due to challenging working conditions faced by staff.
The Mirror has reached out to Aena and Mitie for their responses regarding the incident.