McDermont and her husband had booked a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Alicante for 30 August, planning a four‑day family holiday. The trip was cancelled when their son, Billy, died in an undisclosed tragic accident at age 18, leaving the family to arrange his funeral.
The mother applied for a refund through Ryanair’s website, expecting the airline to waive the charge given the circumstances. Instead, she was told that Ryanair’s bereavement policy only provides travel credit when the death of an immediate family member occurs within ten days of the scheduled departure, and Billy’s death fell just outside that window.
“If he’d died a day later, I would’ve got my money back,” McDermont said, adding that the policy felt like a “blanket rule” that lacked compassion. Ryanair’s representative confirmed the policy’s wording and said the airline had supplied the documentation needed for McDermont to submit a claim to her travel‑insurance provider.
McDermont described the decision as “inhumane” and “a slap in the face,” noting that the £350 (about $467) was intended to help cover funeral costs. She criticised the lack of a “special circumstances clause” for close relatives such as children and said she would never fly Ryanair again.
The case follows a similar complaint earlier in 2024, when UK resident Anita Kozłowska said Ryanair charged her around $140 to amend a booking after her sister died before the trip. Both incidents have drawn public attention to the carrier’s handling of bereavement cancellations.