A woman who used a wheelchair and was scheduled to travel to Bristol had her Ryanair flight missed after being unintentionally left behind by the special assistance staff at a bustling airport in Spain.
The incident occurred at Terminal 1 of Lanzarote Airport on May 12, where the tourist remained stranded in the accessible passenger lounge and had to spend the night on the Canary Island before catching her Ryanair flight the next day. While she was waiting to be escorted to the boarding gate, her original flight departed without her.
The mistake has been attributed to the high workload faced by subcontractors operating under Spain’s state-owned airport provider, Aena. The assistance services at the airport are managed by a company named Mitie.
Aena confirmed that an investigation is underway regarding the incident. Officials at the airport indicated that appropriate actions would be taken in line with existing contracts and service standards.
Although the nationality of the affected holidaymaker was not disclosed, she is believed to be of British origin. It remains unclear whether she was traveling alone or accompanied by family or friends.
In a similar incident last year in March, two elderly passengers requiring mobility assistance at Lanzarote Airport were also left behind and missed their easyJet flight to Liverpool. Witnesses reported that the pair experienced significant distress due to the oversight.
Past reports have linked such incidents to significant shortcomings in the management of assistance services, citing challenges such as long working hours, staff shortages, and high work pressure.
The Mirror has reached out to Aena and Mitie for their comments on the matter.
