Folks, please don’t treat airline representatives this way, because they don’t deserve it. I’m covering this because I think it’s interesting how the public’s lack of knowledge about how airline operations work often creates some deceiving narratives.
Man misses Ryanair connection in Krakow, gets angry
An Instagram user shared a video of an interaction he had with a Ryanair gate agent at Krakow Airport (KRK), in Poland, prior to attempting to fly to Tirana, Albania (TIA). The video has text that reads “this baldy made me miss my flight when he could have easily let me on.”
Okay, first of all, can we treat others with respect, please, and not call them names based on something outside of their control? Or is calling someone that in England considered totally fine, and I’m just not aware?
The video starts moments after he finds out that he missed his “connecting” flight. The passenger’s defense is essentially that people were allowed to board shortly before him, and the bus (to the remote stand) was still at the gate when he arrived, but he wasn’t allowed on it.
One of his main defenses is that he was on a connecting flight from Manchester, England (MAN), with only a 55-minute connection, and he repeatedly points that out. Ryanair only has one flight a day in the market, so he then uses the defense that “I don’t live here, so now I’m gonna have to stay in Krakow, I don’t even know anything about this city,” and “I don’t know this country, I’m not from here.” Dude, it’s Krakow, not Benghazi, you’ll be fine.
The Ryanair gate agent repeatedly explains that the man was too late, and he’s done talking to him. The passenger then says “an absolute waste” as he walks off. He then goes to the Ryanair ticket office, which is where he seems to want to file a complaint, as if that’s how that works. You can see the video for yourself below.
In defense of the Ryanair gate agent…
The comments on the video are almost entirely in support of the passenger and not the gate agent. Could the gate agent have let the passenger on? Maybe, probably?
We don’t know the full story. It’s possible the system had been “closed” at that point, and there is a cutoff by which you have to be at the gate, regardless of who walked on the plane before you. It could be that the person who walked in shortly before him had already been scanned onto the flight much earlier, and was only delayed by having to pay a fee, or something.
But here’s where it gets interesting. The man repeatedly makes the point that he was on a connecting itinerary. Ryanair is a point-to-point airline, and doesn’t sell connecting flights, at least through direct channels. If you go to Ryanair’s website, you won’t find any option to book this itinerary from Manchester to Tirana via Krakow.
So that means this man voluntarily booked the two separate flights with a 55 minute connection. Never mind that Ryanair requires passengers to be at the gate 20 minutes before departure, and the Manchester to Krakow flight is “often delayed by 30+ minutes,” as noted on Google Flights.
Look, this guy made a risky (stupid, in my opinion) decision to book two separate tickets with a very short connection on an airline known for unapologetically enforcing strict policies, and it ended as you’d expect.
I think my favorite part of all of this is how he demands the man’s name because he’s going to file a complaint against him. Dude, you’re flying Ryanair. Have you seen the company’s social media and general approach to customer service?
Does he think he’s going to get a personal apology from Michael O’Leary because they *checks notes* denied him boarding when he arrived at the gate after the posted time for the gate to close? If anything, O’Leary would probably praise the gate agent for being able to generate more revenue for the airline, by selling a second ticket!
Bottom line
A Ryanair passenger was furious after he missed a flight by seconds (or so he claims), while on a “connecting” itinerary. The only issue is that Ryanair doesn’t actually sell connecting itineraries, so he booked those two segments at his own risk.
If you show up at the gate when the gate is supposed to be closed, expect you won’t be placed on the flight. You can politely ask all you want, but to put someone on blast for simply enforcing the company’s policies is rude. Especially when you’re flying Ryanair, a carrier that thrives on enforcing its policies.
Now, let me admit that over the years, I’ve booked some tight connections on separate tickets, and sometimes it doesn’t work out. Sometimes I’ll politely ask if there’s anything they can do to help me. But if they can’t, I wouldn’t blame them.
What do you make of this Ryanair interaction?
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