Family with disabled teenager accuse Ryanair of ‘abandoning’ them after special assistance bus went to wrong plane and caused them to miss flight

A family with a severely disabled teenager has accused Ryanair of ‘abandoning’ them after a special assistance bus took them to the wrong plane causing them to miss their flight.Daniel Laws, 47, and his three children were flying back from the Spanish city of Alicante to Bournemouth, Dorset, when the family were made to wait on the floor and eventually sent home to a different airport 125 miles away from their home. The bus at Alicante Airport, operated by the airport, took his family to a Tui plane with staff ignoring Mr Laws’ pleas that it was the wrong airline.By the time they were taken back to the terminal, the Ryanair flight they were meant to be boarding had departed.Mr Laws said they were taken to the Ryanair help desk where they were left sitting on the floor for two hours.Ryanair staff told Mr Laws he could be rebooked back to Stansted Airport, 125 miles away from Bournemouth.When he asked if they could help with getting the family back to Bournemouth from there, he claims they ‘laughed and walked away’.Upon arrival at Stansted, Mr Laws said he went straight to speak to Ryanair staff. Daniel Laws, 47, and his three children were flying back from the Spanish city of Alicante to Bournemouth, Dorset, when things started to go wrong  The bus at Alicante Airport took his family to a Tui plane with staff ignoring Mr Laws’ pleas that it was the wrong airlineHe said they waited another hour before he claims they were told that they must organise their own way home.Mr Laws booked a train home which took them into London but they faced even more delays on the London Underground before catching an onward train down to the seaside town.He said his children, aged ten, 14 and 16, were ‘in tears’ as they had not eaten since breakfast.Mr Laws, a former teacher, is now a full-time carer for his eldest daughter who is brain damaged.The Alicante to Bournemouth flight departed on time at 10.20am on Friday.The family caught a flight from Alicante to Stansted at 2.15pm but did not get home to Bournemouth until 9.30pm.Mr Laws, who spent £167 on train tickets to get them home, criticised the treatment his family received from Ryanair.He said: ‘When I asked them if they would be able to help us get back to Bournemouth from Stansted, they seemed to laugh at that and walk away from the window.’We were abandoned in Stansted.’We were told that Ryanair believed it had nothing to do with them and we must organise our own way home.’We were the most vulnerable people on the flight. ‘I don’t understand why there aren’t regulations in place to hold them accountable.’I want a full refund for our flights because we didn’t even get on it.’I want compensation for the experience and the money spent on trains and food.’A spokesman for Ryanair said: ‘Special assistance services at Alicante Airport (and all other airports) are provided by the airport but are paid for by Ryanair.’We regret that Alicante Airport’s special assistance provider, Alyzia, failed to bring these passengers to the aircraft prior to this flight from Alicante to Bournemouth departing on 31 July. ‘Following Alyzia’s error, Ryanair reaccommodated these passengers free of charge onto the next available flight from Alicante to Stansted, which departed later that same day. We are working with Alicante Airport to ensure this does not recur.’