Denied Extra Medical Bag on Ryanair Flight

Went to visit my family after 2 years because of rectal cancer.
Have had a permanent stoma since last year. I had a letter from the doctor and a travel certificate. I spoke to an adviser from Ryanair who confirmed that's all I need if my bag is under 5 kg.
At the check-in desk, I was told I can't take my medical bag on board and have to pay, which I refused! £75
Managed to squeeze and distribute everything in my family members' bags in front of everyone boarding the plane.
I think it's so bad as it was already stressful flying for the first time after my surgery.
I have complained and have been sent automatic messages with an apology. 😡

They allow one hand-held bag. If you were allowed two, as long as it was less than 5 kg, then they were clearly wrong, and you deserve more than a simple apology. I carry my supplies in what was once a lovely traveling bar with a handle on it. I removed the bottles and glasses from it, except for one glass and an empty bottle. It gets their attention since something like it is not usually a part of a passenger's equipment. I told one inquisitive examiner that I don't like the drinks they serve on board, so I carry my own! Best wishes.

Airline policies can vary with respect to an extra bag for medical supplies. But if you checked the policy in advance and were told it was okay, then it is outrageous that they refused.

I have needed a CPAP for many years and have carried that as an extra bag without incident. You need to name and shame. Post on their public website and see if that doesn't get their attention.

That's terrible. You should report them to someone. I am not sure whom you report them to, but there has to be somewhere you can report them. You have a disability, and it's their job to accommodate that.

Thank you for your encouragement. I will have a go. 😊

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Thank you.

Thank you for your reply. I will try to speak to someone who's good at complaining. I don't normally complain, but I feel I have to this time 😊

I agree this is terrible treatment. I hope you do report it and get some answers and an apology, at least. Let us know how it goes for you.

Terry

On an Emirates flight, when I got to my assigned seat, I saw a bag hanging in front. I don't know why I put my hand in it; it was vomit! It had arrived an hour or two before from Dubai, got refueled, and was now heading back with a new set of passengers. Some passenger had gotten sick and vomited, and the cleaning crew hadn't cleaned up properly before the new passengers boarded. Emirates is a first-class airline, and the crew, mostly British, were very apologetic. I was fussed over all the way to Dubai. Every wish was their command.

Oh no!

On the one hand, what would possess you to stick your hand in the bag?

On the other hand, I could easily see myself doing exactly the same thing!

Good object lesson!

The cleaning crew couldn't have missed it. Maybe one of the crew, who board much before the passengers do, or one of the technical and security people who thoroughly search the aircraft before takeoff, checked the overhead bins. When I told the crew about it, she came back in a second with a drink for me: a miniature bottle of whisky and water. She knew what the people boarding from here want.

I have never heard of anything so ridiculous. I have traveled for years with my ostomy supplies on board. I even flew on Ryan Air last year and didn't have a problem with them. I know Ryan Air is a discount airline and charges extra for everything, including luggage stored and carry-on. It was cheaper to pay for doing this prior to taking the flight because I saw they would charge more if you wanted to include this when you were boarding. But I have never stated to any airline that I am carrying ostomy supplies on board.

Infinitycastle52777 is right, stomas are legally classed as a disability in the UK, and a decent lawyer could probably throw the book at them. At the very least, they need to move it up their training agenda, plus recompense you very significantly. The cheaper airlines face a challenge of being perceived as low quality; I think you've got a slam dunk. They should train their staff!

Ryanair does allow extra medical baggage if arranged in advance with a doctor's letter. They are an Irish airline (not British), so they would adhere to EU regulations. Their main office is in Dublin, but they have main UK offices at Stansted Airport, so I would write to Stansted but copy to Dublin. (My son works as an engineer for them.) Hope this helps!

I've never heard of that before. I have an ileostomy, and I always keep at least one black ziplock bag for disposal purposes, containing a wafer, a bag, and an adhesive pad in my backpack. I've never been hassled. I always flunk the body scan. So, I have to rub my hands across my pants in the area of the bag. Then, they swab my hands for traces of explosives.

I can speak for overseas; I live in the United States. But here, medical equipment is allowed, even the blunt scissors for cutting my urostomy bag. Many security agents are not very versed in ostomy bags. But the two times I have traveled with my ostomy in the year since I got it, I had no problem. I showed it to the TSA agent before I got into the scanner so they could expect to see something unusual in the scan. I also wear a continuous glucose monitor and have a CPAP. So far, no problems. Good luck finding out your country's laws concerning this and politely standing your ground. Best of luck.

I traveled Ryanair, and they ask to be notified in advance with a list of what you are taking in your bag. They wanted the size and weight of the bag. I had no difficulty as the information was added to my booking.