Ryanair, the World’s most hated airline, left an 88 year old pensioner out in the freezing cold causing him to suffer a stroke.
Frail John Lynskey was left dazed and confused when his Prestwick bound flight was diverted to Edinburgh because of bad weather.
But rather than ensure the pensioner was cared for in the sub-zero temperatures, he was simply told to get a bus, which dropped him off in the middle of nowhere.
The shocking catalogue of events unfolded when John decided to spend Christmas with his daughter in Coylton.
He was due to arrive at Prestwick at 6.50pm, on December 23 on the Ryanair flight from Shannon.
His daughter Patricia Christie and grand-daughter Nicola were eagerly awaiting his arrival when they heard that the flight had been diverted.
Son-in-law Kenny said: “The next couple of hours were a blank for them. They presumed that the passengers would be brought by bus to Prestwick but John never showed up.
“Meanwhile I was phoning the airport and trying to phone Ryanair but nobody was able to confirm what was happening. It was a nightmare.
“John doesn’t have a mobile and he didn’t have anyone’s mobile numbers on him so there was no way of him contacting us.”
Unable to contact him, John’s frantic family had to call in police who filed him as a missing person.
Meanwhile, John had been advised to get a bus to the city centre and then to Prestwick.
But the city bus he caught dropped him at a remote location and he stood with his heavy suitcase in dark sub-zero conditions for over an hour before he was able to catch another bus back to the airport.
Kenny continued: “By 11pm we were in absolute panic mode. I phoned Strathclyde police, who phoned their colleagues in Lothian and Borders.
“By 1am, they found John sitting alone in the airport totally helpless. He didn’t know what was happening.”
Savvy officers put John in a taxi to Coylton– at a cost of £167.
And when Patricia and Nicola arrived home at 3am they found a cold, hungry and scared John waiting in the porch – more than seven hours after he was due to arrive.
But the family nightmare wasn’t over.
Patricia explained: “I was so relieved to get dad inside. We got him a cup of tea and something to eat then went to bed.
“The next day I was rushing around making breakfast and noticed that my dad was spilling his food all down his front. Then I realised the left side of his face was drooped.
“I just rushed into the hospital with him and doctors said he’d had a stroke brought on by the stress and cold.”
John, from Galway, is now recovering at Patricia’s home. He was released from hospital late on Christmas day.
John said: “I’ve never been through anything like that in my life before.
“We still don’t know if Ryanair ever put on a bus for passengers to get to Prestwick.
“I’ve travelled here plenty of times on that flight and nothing like that has ever happened.
“I dread to think what could have happened to me.
“It ruined our Christmas.”
But Ryanair had no sympathy with John’s plight.
A spokesman said: “Ryanair flights were diverted due to the weather. Passengers were fully advised of onward connections.”
