A British man caused a one-hour delay to a Ryanair flight from Treviso Airport in Italy to Paris last Thursday after his wife was denied boarding due to overbooking. The passenger was subsequently fined 3,000 euros (approximately $2,500 USD).
The disruption began when the man reached his seat and realized his wife had not been permitted to board the flight. Ryanair had sold more tickets than available seats, a practice known as overbooking. The airline typically offers passengers a seat on the next available flight or, if an overnight stay is required, covers hotel accommodation and a flight the following day. However, this policy was not accepted by the passenger.
Police were called to the scene and intervened to de-escalate the situation. They eventually persuaded the man to remain on board. His wife joined him in Paris the following day.
In a separate incident in June, a Ryanair flight bound for London Luton from Greece departed without dozens of passengers due to significant queues at passport control. Between 20 and 50 travelers were reportedly left stranded at Athens International Airport. Ryanair attributed the issue to border delays, while the airport cited congestion related to the EU's Entry Exit System (EES), which requires UK passengers to provide biometric data upon entering the Schengen Area. Ryanair's CEO, Michael O’Leary, had previously warned passengers that the airline would not hold flights for those delayed by EES queues.