Ryanair visa check scam
Ryanair have been full of new scams recently, all designed to rip you off and leave you angry, frustrated and possibly 60 miles from Barcelona when you thought you were flying there!
This new scam has kindly been brought to our attention by Chris B from London. His email to us detailing the “scoundrels” tactics is posted below.
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There is a new scam which I think you should make your readers aware of which is the new VISA Check policy for foreign nationals.
My friend recently flew to Sardinia with an Italian friend from Stansted. She is Israeli and when she printed out her boarding pass, she didn’t notice that it had the words ‘Visa Check’ on it. Apparently now anybody without an EU passport must go to the Visa Check counter before they go through security where they stamp your boarding pass.
This also happened to an Australian friend of mine who was not even leaving the UK!. He was flying to Belfast and when he went to the Ryanair Visa Check and asked why this was necessary, he was told it was because he was leaving the UK and there are new regulations for the EU? He had to explain to the Ryanair employee that Belfast was actually in the UK!
Anyway going back to my friend going to Sardinia. Because she didn’t go to the VISA check, she went through security and proceeded to the gate. When she got to the gate, the Ryanair employee informed her that she had to go to the Visa check first. She was unable (like any normal airline) to check the visa there and then. As a result she was forced to return through security, queue up for Visa Check and then come back through security. Of course she missed the flight to the delight of Ryanair who charged her another £100 to fly the next day. Another typical Ryanair scam!
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We agree Chris and thanks for your email. Please keep your stories coming and remember, the best ones will win a FREE flight with Ryanair anywhere, yes ANYWHERE in the world!!! Subject to fees outlined in a previous post.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I recently travelled with ryanair when this new rule came into effect, I was a little worried that I might get screwed over, but luckily I didn’t. To me being a non EU national, this is almost like being discrimated against just for not being european.
I suspect this will turn into a way of screwing over non EU nationals, especially since they are getting rid of counter checkin’s in favour of online checkin’s, I can seem them charging just to get a non EU nationals boarding passed stamped.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Hello from Italy. My name’s francesco.
I completly disagree with the tone of this article. I have travelled to UK from Venice several times with RA and I never experienced delay nor a service under my expectation. Unfortunatly, you said it, your friend didn’t check all the details on her ticket. But of course, when she booked the flight, she had checked all the terms and conditions. Then you shouldn’t give the responsability to RA or, if you really think you are right, claim your money back. You english people are good at that.
More over if you want, you can always fly BA paying double and not worring about all this scam, you know. People like me, with only few money in the pocket but with a bit of brain, has to thank a lot all low cost airlines because they gave me and my family the possibility of travel around Europe (my wife if from South Africa).
Thanks
frank
July 1st, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Frank, there is no need for this stupid Visa Check whatsoever; it is simply an invention by this airline to trap and rob passengers from overseas. Other European airlines either don’t have a visa check, or they check it at the check-in or the departure gate. But Ryanair, as always, turns it into a booby trap. Their rules and regulations are designed to make everything as difficult and inconvenient as possible for their passengers and they are frequently changed without notice. Do YOU alway read the rules and regulations when you buy something? I have my own answer, I do not accept Ryanair’s vicious, mean and petty terms and conditions, so I do not fly with that airline. Their arrogance will soon catch up with them.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I will never travel with Ryanair again after my experience. On arriving at the boarding gate after having my baggage checked in, I was told I couldn’t board because my pass wasn’t stamped. The Ryanair staff member at the check in desk had to hand my Australian passport and boarding pass but didn’t stamp it! It’s definitely a scam designed to catch out non-EU members. I had to pay an additional £140.00 to catch the next flight. The visa-check warning is not even printed in the “Important Reminders” section of the boarding pass (the section most people read - how convenient). The fact that so many people have been caught out in this way and Ryanair are turning a blind eye to the problem rather than changing this blatently discrimatory policy makes it even worse. It only further tarnishes their reputation. The good news is the company is currently making a loss. Long may it continue.
July 11th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Hello
I know thsi is a bit off topic but I have ryanair flights purchased and won’t be able to fly with them anymore… since you can’t cancel any tickets… I am wondering what would happen if we simply don’t check in or show up for the flight…
July 27th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I fell victim to this “policy” on Friday night. In my case, they wanted to charge me 250£ to fly the next day, plus I had to pay for a hotel to stay over night. I understand that I didn’t read the boarding card properly and it was my mistake. That being said, with the exception of the note on the boarding card, at no point in the entire process do they “help” you to avoid this. No sign at the airport, at security, at the gate, no announcement at the gate. If you, like I did, make an honest mistake, there is absolutely no opportunity to rectify it.
I have to say, never in my life have I experienced a bunch of rude, condescending and unhelpful people as I have with Ryanair. This airline is a disgrace. While they claim to be “low cost”, both times I have flown them they have found some way to screw me, and the trip ended up costing me more than twice what it would have on any other civilized airline, BA, Swiss, etc.
I do not accept that this is the nature of flying “low cost”, as I have been flying frequently with Southwest airlines in the States for well over 15 years and NEVER had a single problem with them.
At this point I don’t even hope for a change in policy, I only hope for a slow and painful bankruptcy for Michael O’Leary and the rest of the Ryanair board.
July 28th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Yup, this visa check scam happened to me to!!! There were 15 other people having the same issue at the same time. They made us wait for 2 hours while all the flights for the day left. Finally, at 10pm, the same woman who had been sitting there listening to our complaints escorted us around security to lead us to the stamp place. Apparently, she could’ve done that THE WHOLE TIME and we might have been able to catch a flight and avoid the change fee for flying the next day. They are definitely crooks.
While I was waiting, I spoke to security at the airport. They said that this happens EVERY DAY. EVERY SINGLE DAY there are MANY people who are screwed like this. It is completely insane.
July 29th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I am confused. Travelling on an Australian Passport can I use the on-line check-in. Or do I always have to pay the £10.00 to use the desk. I often fly in and out of London and not used ryan air as I can find no answer to this question anywhere.
July 29th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Hello Travers,
From what we understand, you can still check-in online and print out your boarding pass as usual. But, once at the airport, you will need to go to the VISA check desk to get a stamp. Allow extra time for this as there may be a queue. DON’T go through security before you get the stamp as you will then likely miss your flight and be subjected to massive charges in order to reach your destination.
Regards,
IHR Team
July 30th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Complain to the trading standards institute:
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk
Or Watchdog:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/
July 30th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Just to help clarify the above, everyone MUST now check in on line. If you haved an non EU/EEA passport then you have to go to the Bag Drop/Visa Check desk at the airport to get your visa stamped before you go through security.
Before this was introduced, if you had a non EU/EEA passport you could not checkin online and had to select ‘Airport checkin’ and pay the fee (about 12 pound). But if the only reason you used the airport checkin was because you were a non EU/EEA passport holder (ie you had no checked luggage) you could ’simply’ fax your email confirmation and a copy of your passport and get the fee refunded (with no time limit). It actually worked ok for the regular traveller flying from London Stansted where they had all those automatic checkin booths and airport checkin was a breeze.
Ryanair has been great for regular city break travellers/expats who take a cheap flight every other week. You could easily avoid the ‘optional’ charges by getting an electron card and knowing exactly what you need to do to avoid getting slammed. But for the one off or infrequent traveller I agree you could easily get slammed with huge additional charges for just assuming that it operates like a full cost carrier.
But now, even for a regular Ryanair traveller like me without an EU/EEA passport, the additional hassle of having to queue up for a pointless visa check will make me choose another (budget) airline unless there is a big difference in cost (which there frequently is).
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Hello fellow RyanAir hatters, yet another scam from RyanAir which unfortunately I fell victim to in the first week of July. I am Australian and have been living in London for 4 years and have probably flown on more than 50 budget flights across Europe. I have never missed a flight nor had any problems with EasyJet or RyanAir, untill this even happened in early June. I remember once trying to book online check in with EasyJet however they clearly state when selecting online check in you must be an EU or UK passport holder otherwise you must select “Airport Checkin”.
So when my friend booked my online check in with RyanAir for this holiday to Spain I was a bit cautious and asked her several times if it said anything about non EU UK passport holders (she is aussie but with a EU passport) She said nothing about it, however i still wasnt sure so i went and read all the terms and conditions, and nothing jumped out.
Got to Gatwick in plenty of time, went through security with my 4 friends, got to the gate and was abruptly told along with 1 other friend, we coulnt board the plane…. We were both shocked and dismayed,,, there was no urgency from the RyanAir staff just a plane in a broken english accent “you cannot get on this flight, sorry” and that was it….. so we rushed back through to departure lounge and went to the desk where we were made to wait for a bunch of smokers to gather as they were being De-Controled also as there flight was delayed 8 hours. So by the time we got back to check in we had missed our flight. Absolutely furious at this i was ready to head home, but thought im not letting a budget ripp off airline ruin my holiday so we went and booked an easyjet flight for 5 hours later. I explained to the easyjet staff who was very nice and helpful and she told me “its one of ryanairs typical things to make money, they are the only airline that do it”
Obviously it was a return ticket so i caught the RyanAir flight back to london but made sure i got my “Visa Check” done, and all they did was check i had spelt my name right against my passport!!! Are they taking the piss?? Unbelivable to this “check” cost me £100 (for new flight)
Discrimination against foreigners perhaps, because we cannot spell our names? I dont know, all i know is my 4 friends and I agreed never to fly RyanAir again. Also my 350+ friends on facebook were all made aware of this, so im hoping they will also never use this budget airline again.
EasyJet all the way from now on!
RyanAir - What a Joke!
Thanks for listening
Ant
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Hi there Ant,
Thanks for your post. We understand your frustration and agree that this is a complete rip-off and also totally unjustified as a check.
Many people are being caught out by this scam and we hope by reading comments here, people will be more wise to the Ryanair robbery tactics.
Please do forward on this website address to your friends on facebook (and ask them to do the same!) as we need all the support we can get !!
Thanks,
IHR Team
August 5th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I loathe Ryanair. This said, the visa check rule is better than the old, discriminatory policy of charging non-EU passengers more for their tickets, de facto, since they could not use online check-in and had to pay to check in at the airport (and the stamp to apply for a refund; it was never possible to pay as little as an EU citizen).
The problem with the visa check rule is not that it exists, necessarily, but that it is inconsistently applied. I’m a US national who flies back and forth between Berlin and the UK on a regular basis. In Berlin, the visa check is generally done at the gate. In the UK, you are required to have it done before you go through security. Shortly after the policy was put into place, on my fifth wedding anniversary, I found myself sprinting through the terminal to get back to the check-in desk to have my boarding pass stamped (I had, unusually, bought Priority Boarding, which made all of the difference as it gave me the time to do this). The airline had given no warning about their change in policy, by the way.
There is a recent article in the NY Times about Ryanair, with comments from Mr. O’Leary. His contempt for his customers knows no bounds.
August 19th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I’m enjoying reading all these posts. It’s nice to know you’re not alone.
Yesterday the old visa stamp trick caught me out too - I too am Australian, but living in the Netherlands. The difference in my case was that the ground staff had already let me on the plane. After seeing the mistake the hostess quite politely told me to walk up to the gate to ‘get a stamp’. At the time I was completely unaware what stamp she was talking about. When I arrived back at the gate and asked for ‘the stamp’ I was immediately told that I would not be allowed back on the plane. Nice way to break the news given that I had left my girlfriend and her parents on the plane, with my phone and bagage. I did luckily have my wallet.
The next thing I know they are asking my EU-passport-holding girfriend to leave the plane too. The pretence was that they had to get my bag off the plane. A fair request except that we had packed one bag for two people - so I didn’t technically have a bad. Try explaining that conundrum to an 18-year-old with a suit and a name badge. The result was that my girlfriend was coerced off the plane with no explanation at all as to why I was not going to catching the flight. The result was that instead of one extra ticket, I had to pay for two. Needless to say, my reaction to their ‘assistance’ meant I did not make many friends at Birmingham airport. In fact I’m probably lucky to have got out of their at all.
And then, my girlfriends parents, after watching both of us leave the plane without explanation were asked to stand up and move to front of the cabin (along with 9 other passengers who were sitting around us), while they checked the seats for anything ’suspicious’. Of course, security is important. But the irony of their own doing does not escape me. Unfortuneately my girlfriends parents, with no information as to what happened to us did not see the funny side, and (as infrequent flyers) were in fact quite traumatised by the whole experience.
We managed to get home two hours later, no great drama. But I would be very interested to get some resolution on how they justify their stamp, and furthermore, how they justify pulling a ‘legitimate’ EU-citizen off the plane. I’m searching further for avenues of … well, anything ranging from ranting complaint to full blown legal action. Not that either will get me very far I suspect. But it was good to get it off my chest.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
same thing happened to our family yesterday in luton airport involving a flight to knock,ireland.myself husband and 3 small children were not allowed to board our flight.after 11 hours in luton airport we got on a flight to galway with aer arann which we had to purchase on a credit card .it cost 900 euro!we tried every other available option.our car was in knock. ryanair were charging us 500 pounds (plus bags i presume) to go on same flight the next day.id rather hitch home than give them that the next day.our whole holiday in england cost less than the price home.we didnt have that kind of money to fork out for another flight home especially when there was no reason for us not to be on the booked flight with ryanair.sooo mad,not done with ryanair,intend finding more about passengers rights etc.funny thing is they even admitted at the gate the girl at check in should have noticed that 2 members of our family needed this check and should have sent us there.the 2 members in question (2 children)were born in the usa but were actually carrying irish passports.2 other members of our family are irish born but had usa passports and they were going to let them go on for a few minutes til they decided at gate they couldnt go either even though they didnt require visa check,they were letting me travel i told them to shove it as if im going to leave my husband and 3 small kids behind.something very wrong here,intend looking more into this
August 20th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Folks,
Well, this helps to read all these other complaints. My wife came from the U.S. (Washington State) to meet me when I was finishing up a teaching assignment in Ireland. She flew to Heathrow first, and then caught a flight to Manchester, where she had a RyanAir booking to Dublin. We’ve done this before, so neither of us anticipated problems. She saw the “Visa” notice, but misread it, thinking, “I’m not travelling on a visa; I’m just using my passport to visit,” and was too jet-lagged to think about it more; and, because she’d flown with RyanAir before, and no such regulation concerning the stamp was present then, she didn’t think there could be any real problems. So, she got up to get on the plane, and was denied. She managed to finagle a flight the next day for an additional 100 pounds (they made her feel like they were being benevolent, telling her it was ‘normally’ 200 pounds), and had to deal with cab fare and a hotel for the night. They made her feel like it was her fault, and it was humiliating.
We already had two more flights booked with them. When we checked into the Dublin airport, we had to find a line where we could get the boarding passes stamped. The ticket agent who did this gave our passports no more than a cursory glance. Surely it was something the agent on the boarding side could just as easily have done. As a security measure, it was silly (my wife had been through Heathrow’s security/immigration, and through security in Manchester, and would have to go through Dublin’s immigration, so what was gained?). Same thing (the cursory glance and stamp) happened when we returned to Dublin. Their website advertises that their measures are designed to reduce the need to stand in lines, but this gives zero incentive; and, if it’s a small airport, there isn’t a separate line; you have to line up with the passengers who are checking in luggage (as we did at Leeds/Bradford). No line hopping. It’s maddening. When we tried to at least lodge a complaint with the visa stamper, she was thoroughly uninterested. It’s very difficult to yell at a corporation. The individuals representing it at any stage aren’t really the company, and we try not to treat them with malice, since it isn’t their particular fault.
Will we continue to fly with them? Maybe. They usually have the best rates by a long way much of the time; BUT we will be very, very cautious. It’s not that we hate them, but we do hate needless, mindless, uncharitable, greedy behavior. One of our Irish friends gave the opinion that RyanAir knew very well that people would be confused by this, and be forced to buy more tickets. It’s difficult for me to believe any corporation so large could be that petty, so I’m reserving judgment on that. I’m not reserving any disappointment. It’s unprofessional practice, and it’s bullying. The fact that they don’t have any easy way for customers to lodge a legitimate complaint seems to imply that they believe they don’t really have to care.
Sam
August 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I REFUSE TO EVER USE RYANAIR AGAIN!!!!!
I AM FROM NEW ZEALAND AND MY GIRLFRIEND IS FROM IRELAND, WE HAD AN 06.30AM FLIGHT TODAY AND AFTER GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS ETC AND LINING UP TO GET ON THE PLANE THE LADY AT THE TICKET DESK SAID I WAS UNABLE TO FLY BECAUSE I DIDN’T HAVE SOME SHITTY STAMP ON A PIECE OF A4 PAPER!!!! I HAVE FLOWN TO IRELAND LOADS OF TIMES BEFORE!.
I WAS THEN INSTRUCTED TO WAIT AT THE GATE UNTIL EVERYONE BOARDED AND THEN SOMEONE WOULD TAKE ME AROUND TO A DESK WERE I COULD COMPLAIN!, THEY SAID I WOULD NEED TO PAY ANOTHER 100 POUNDS!! TOO BOOK ANOTHER FLIGHT!
THE THING THAT REALLY PISSES ME OFF IS THAT THEY COULD HAVE EASILY GOT MY TICKET STAMPED WITH THE TIME OF BOARD!
I HATE RYANAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 23rd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I missed my flight few weeks ago when I was heading to Dublin. They made me go back outside to get visa stamp….I had already missed my flight. They made me pay 100 pounds extra for next flight to Dublin………
The guy at luggage check-in desk told me that they bought this rule to make more money…..I wanted to punch that guy on his face!!
August 25th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I cannot understand why anybody would fly to Dublin from Heathrow via Manchester if no stay in that city is planned. In the first place, the flight to Manchester might be delayed or cancelled, which means missing the connecting Ryanair flight. I can not believe that this is cheaper than a direct flight to Dublin. It takes much more time and as happened in this case, you may walk into a Ryanair boobytrap. Aer Lingus flies direct from Heathrow to Dublin in one hour. The earlier you book, the lower the fare; Aer Lingus has more luggage allowance - 20 kg v 15 kg on Ryanair, comfortable planes, pleasant cabin crew, food and drink on board cheaper than on Ryanair and no special Visa Check.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I fell in this trap on my well planned spain trip this long weekend.
Flight was late by an hour as expected but i was there in time. I had this online checkin done and passed the security without getting a stamp on my boarding pass.
Then i realised i need to get this done and rushed ….
I had 30 minutes left to get the boarding pass stamped when i reached the counter/desk where servis air (who can escort you in such cases) operates. I found no one at the counter…. and when i called from the phones at the counter …no answer… n you all know what would have happened after that… infact there was no other flight till next 2 days so i had lost all my flights and hotels money.
Is there anyone who has claimed any refund through Travel insurance?
I’m writing to customer care (not that i expect them to pay me back) but you need to do this before you approach the Watch dog…
Can some pls let me know if they have done this before.
September 10th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I have fallen victim to this mad Visa Check regulation too. I didn;t read my board pass properly (who does?) got to the gate and was very rudely turned around by the Ryanair staff and told to get my visa checked. I travel on a New Zealand passport and explained to them I do not need a visa to enter Ireland but they could not give a stuff. Also on my flight 3 Aussies, 2 other Kiwis and 2 Indians got kicked off. I asked to speak to a manager but was told that Ryanair is an online airline and no managers were at Gatwick.
So I wasted £100 on flights and didn’t get to go to Ireland to see my friend. The other Kiwis missed out on their friend’s hens party which is pretty sad.
I wrote to the airline but got some form letter reply telling me nothing and not refunding me my flights.
A few weeks ago I had to fly Ryanair again and so got my Visa Check done - all he did was stamp my boarding pass with a red date stamp - I could have done that myself for god’s sake!!
People - never fly Ryanair, they are evil money-grabbing b**tards and their planes are crap anyway. Easyjet all the way!
November 18th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I’m in the same boat as Brendan, flying to Dublin on Friday night to join my Irish wife and children who were already there. Flown to Dublin umpteen times (inc ryanair) with no hassle whatsoever and waltz up to the boarding gate to be told I can’t get on as I don’t have a stamp to say my visa has been checked. So I read the small print that he points out and then try to explain to him that whilst I am not an EU passport holder, I am in fact an EU passenger due to my indefinate leave to remain in the UK status. Think this is really badly worded, but surprise surprise he wasn’t having it and I got sent back to join the other four people who had the same problem on the flight. When we finally got escorted back through there were no seats left that night and the best we could do was pay £100 to get a flight in the morning. Decided to tell them to shove it and found a flight on a different airline for next morning, and whilst looking for a cheap hotel to spend the night I ran into another couple who had the same problem on the flight after me. So it turns out there were five on our flight and five on the next flight, thats £1000 re-booking fees ! And the guy on the desk had the cheek to tell us that this rarely happen ! What a load of shite, this is pure and simple a money making scam just like every other add on you have to pay for with this crappy airline. I unfortunately have one more flight booked on Ryanair and then its the end of the line for me, if you look around and book early there are definately flights available for similar money by the time you take into account all the extras…
December 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pm
The same thing happened to my boyfried who is South African.
We where at the boarding gate, about to get on the plane to Sweden, when he was told he had to run back and get a stamp. I was waiting at the gate, begging them to hold the plane as he was heading back through security. The lady at the gate was not interested in doing any favours. As I was waiting for him there was another 4 people heading home for Christmas but she refused to open the gate for them!
What is the point of offering online check-in for non Eu nationals when they still have to check in? I cant see any other answer but to rip you off!
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I’m sitting on my iPhone I’m gatwick after having been scammed this morning in stanstead. Cost if scan 200 pounds. Worst thing was I actually HAD a UK passport as well as my Ozzie one: so when they said you need the stamp I pulled out the UK passport. They then said sorry your ticket says You are Australian. They just make up the rules as they go along. It is Christmas, my wife is pregnant waiting for me in Poland. I told her not to stress as it’s bad for the baby, but I will never fly Ryanair again. The true discrace is that the politicians seem oblivious, as if this is acceptable practice to keep a UK airline in business.
December 26th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I am really pissed off by this crappy visa check, which nearly ruined my Christmas trip to Germany one week ago. I took KLM instead, I would not spend a single pence on Ryanair. First, it is a very obvious discriminating policy and I don’t really get a single point of that! Second, it makes no fucking sense that they are just too stupid to check the passport at the departure gate. Bunch of idiots. I will never fly this shity airline again and really wish they get into legal problem with this soon!
January 8th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
I fell victim to the ‘visa stamp’ scam today and am glad to know I’m not the only one, in fact, I’m relieved I was not in such an awful position that many of you have been in. I’m so sorry for you and only hope that websites like this will help others avoid this trap.
Something that struck me in my experience and it has been mentioned by many others, is that the whole check in process was fine until boarding time.
If the guy that scanned my ticket, or the security guy had mentioned that I needed to get a visa stamp before I went through security, well I had loads of time to kill and would have easily been able to get it.
But I only found out when trying to board the plane when there was no time to do anything.
I struggle to understand how the airports can turn a blind eye to this - surely they are affected by having to process 100’s of people through security repeatedly every day. Surely, the security risks increase, the delays because baggage has to be removed for passenger x that didn’t have their unneccesary ‘visa stamp’.
And what about the poor staff who have to deal with the angry and upset travellers? It’s not their fault, but they have to deal with the situation Ryanair created as much as the passengers do.
In my case I had to return purchases I had made in duty free - so the airport shops suffer too.
I hope the airports wake up to this soon.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:51 am
I had this happen to a friend of mine from the USA. I believe that Ryanair may owe compensation to such passengers under the EU Charter of Passenger Rights. The Charter says that if you are denied boarding *except for a reason beyond the airline’s control* then you are due compensation. It is clearly NOT beyond their control to look at your passport at the gate; as transcripts of arguments at the gate on other sites show, the passengers are being denied boarding not because of invalid visas but because of company policy, which is obviously not beyond the control of the company.
We will be making a claim against Ryanair for compensation under the EU Charter of Passenger Rights and if successful, it could open the door for a class action. If anyone else has tried a claim under the Charter then I would be interested to hear about the result.