colin and yvonne (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
A grieving widow was left distraught when Ryanair refused to refund her late husband’s £827 flights, insisting that he needed to lodge the complaint himself. Yvonne Shields’ husband Colin had booked his flights to Venice, Italy, last year with plans to represent Scotland in a powerchair football match in September.
Colin, who became tetraplegic following an accident 14 years ago, required two essential carers to accompany him on the flight, for which he paid. However, after Colin tragically died due to a brain bleed in April 2025, Yvonne reached out to Ryanair customer support to inform them and request a refund. The 44-year-old was told she could not receive a refund for the carers’ tickets as it contravened Ryanair’s policy, despite Colin having footed the bill.
She was assured a refund of only £258 for his ticket but says she has yet to receive even that. When Yvonne followed up on the refund, she was reportedly told they could not divulge any information unless they spoke to the original booker – despite being informed that the ‘booker is dead’, reports Edinburgh Live.
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Yvonne, from Glasgow, said: “He was captain of the Scottish power football team and they were playing against other national teams. He is tetraplegic so he couldn’t go by himself and he had two essential carers. He often travelled with carers.
“He booked them through a company, it’s not like it’s personal carers, we don’t know these people. He paid for their tickets too, it was all through him.
“Colin passed on April 12th and I contacted them in April. I filled out the form to get a refund for Colin and the carers. They authorised part of the refund but they didn’t send it.
“I sent the death certificate and proof I am the will executor. They said a refund would come in the next 24-48 hours. They said their policy is to refund only Colin’s ticket, not the carers’. But I’ve not had it, there’s nothing.
“I emailed them to say I haven’t received the refund and it’s been over 48 hours. They said that they have to speak with the booker. My sister contacted them and said the booker is dead. It’s so upsetting and trivial. I told them back in April that he passed so there should be no reason why they can’t refund it.
“I can’t get in contact with these carers because the contract ended, but they didn’t pay for the tickets, Colin paid for the tickets. They said ‘I can’t disclose any information with someone not tied to the booking’, even though they were discussing it with me in the past.
Colin was left paralysed from the chest down following an accident in 2010. (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
The mother claims she even provided Ryanair with Colin’s death certificate and evidence that she is the executor of his will, but they still declined to converse with her and terminated the chat.
Ryanair has since apologised for the distress caused and admitted that she was ‘regrettably incorrectly advised wrongly’ by their customer service agent.
“They said ‘we would need the passengers to contact us to process’, but I don’t have passengers to contact. They said there’s nothing else we can help you with and ended the chat.”
Yvonne expressed her frustration at Ryanair’s lack of empathy, which brought her to tears. The mother-of-two is struggling to cope with her grief and feels like she’s ‘banging her head against a brick wall.’
Yvonne stated: “I burst into tears because I have quite a lot to deal with right now since Colin passed. It’s a lot. It’s not like you’re getting this clean slate to start again. I constantly have to deal with things.
“I’ve got two kids as well, 14 and 17, and it’s dealing with their emotions as well. The fact they’re not even giving me the money back is infuriating. It’s like bashing your head on a brick wall. They’re trying to speak to someone that isn’t here, it’s an unreasonable request.
“It’s frustrating, it’s devastating, you feel like you’re nothing. We’ve dealt with so much because of his disability. Things are always that little bit tougher, harder.”
Colin was left paralysed from the chest down following an accident in 2010 and developed a condition called autonomic dysreflexia, which could cause his blood pressure to skyrocket and lead to a stroke if untreated – this ultimately led to his brain bleed.
Yvonne expressed her frustration, stating: “Colin had an accident 14 years ago, a month before our youngest was born. It’s just constant battling and I feel tired, I feel drained, sometimes I want to just ignore it but my sister says ‘you’re not ignoring this, they stole from you.'”.
She added: “It’s the lack of empathy, lack of understanding, it’s not a box-standard person going on a flight, it’s a disabled person. If you had a family member who died, surely you would think it’s all cancelled.”
A spokesperson for Ryanair responded: “Mr Shields was due to travel from Edinburgh to Venice on 16 Sep’ 25 but passed away prior to this flight. Mrs Shields attempted to submit a refund request (26 Apr) and was advised to submit a death cert and proof of executorship.”
They continued: “On 30 Jun, Mrs Shields was informed that a refund (£257.58) was issued and was regrettably incorrectly advised by a customer service agent who wrongly believed that the other two passengers on the booking were not entitled to a refund.”
The spokesperson concluded: “Our Customer Service Department would be happy to further assist this passenger to correct this customer service agent’s error and assist this passenger with their refund.”
Ryanair conceded that the customer service agent also mistakenly told Yvonne that the refund of £257.58 would be sent to her husband’s Ryanair wallet, instead of the card used to pay for the booking.