My mum, 74, slept on bag carousel after Ryanair left us stranded for three days
Daughter tells of ordeal in Brussels after two flights were grounded at last minute
A FRAIL gran was forced to sleep on an airport baggage carousel when she was left stranded by Ryanair for three days. Care worker Wendy Erskine, 51, said her 74-year-old mum Edith was so desperate for sleep she curled up on the conveyor belt to avoid sleeping on the freezing floor. But she was forced to jump off when it started up in the early hours of the morning. Wendy herself tried to sleep under a sink in the men’s toilets at Brussels Charleroi airport while other stranded passengers slept on luggage trays. And she claims armed police intimidated her and ordered her to delete photos she had taken of the chaos in the terminal. Wendy and Edith’s ordeal began on December 10 after they had been visiting Wendy’s son in the Netherlands. Their flight from Eindhoven to Edinburgh was cancelled due to bad weather. Wendy, from Upper Largo, Fife, says they were forced to make their way to Charleroi, more than 100 miles away, by coach. But to their horror, the flight they were expecting to catch from there was also cancelled at the last minute, with Ryanair again blaming the weather.
Wendy said she and her mum were forced to bed down in the airport that night as they were running short of cash.
Wendy said: “My mum has heart problems and had to sleep on a conveyor belt because the floor was so cold. It started up at 2am but thankfully she managed to get off.
“People were queuing for information for several hours at a time and there were police with guns, which was very intimidating.
“There was no form of help or information and a sign was put up at the Ryanair desk saying the next flight would be on the 13th.”
Wendy said when she tried to take a photo on the morning of December 12, she was taken into a private room by armed officers. They told her that airports are private areas and ordered her to delete her images.
Wendy and Edith stayed in a hotel that night at their own expense before finally flying back to Edinburgh on December 13.
Wendy is in the process of complaining to the airline over their ordeal and says she will consult her Euro-MP over their treatment at the airport.
Ryanair said the pair had been told they would be reimbursed for any expenses.
A spokeswoman said: “This flight from Eindhoven to Edinburgh on December 10 was regrettably cancelled due to snow in Eindhoven.
“All affected customers were advised of their options – a full refund, a free transfer on to the next available flight, or a free transfer on to an alternative routing.
“The customers in question chose a re-routing and were transferred by coach to Brussels Charleroi, where they were due to fly from on December 11. However, this flight was subsequently and regrettably cancelled due to snow at Charleroi.”
The spokeswoman added that due to the number of cancellations on that day, hotel accommodation which had been authorised was not available to all.
She said: “We sincerely apologise for these weather cancellations, which were entirely beyond our control.”
People queued for hours at a time and there were police with guns WENDY ERSKINE