Airline charges man for deceased wife's suitcase

Ryanair has since apologised for the incident and refunded the money. Photo / iStock

A devastated widower has described his treatment at the hands of Ryanair as 'horrific' after he was ordered to pay €30 ($48) to bring home his deceased wife's clothing following her sudden death on holiday.

Bryn Roberts, 63, from Flints in north east Wales, was abroad with his wife Sandra, 72, on their summer holiday to Ibiza when she passed away suddenly from septic shock caused by a perforated bowel.

A distraught Mr Roberts arrived at Ibiza Airport to catch his flight back to Manchester Airport later in the week. However, he was informed that as the luggage was in his wife's name he would have to pay a charge to put the case on the Ryanair flight home.

Mr Roberts, who married wife Sandra in 1998, paid £551 ($1129) for the package holiday in May. But upon arrival Sandra was in "excruciating pain" and she started being violently sick.

Mr Roberts explained to the Daily Star that his wife, who has three children, was whisked to intensive care where she died the next morning.

The toxic shock was later identified to have been caused by a perforated bowel.

After arriving home, Mr Roberts complained to the airline and asked "why I was charged 30 euros to bring my dead wife's clothes home in the same case?"

The 63-year-old said: "What sort of human being do you have to be to charge someone to bring your wife's luggage back to the UK?

"It was horrific. It's bad enough when you lose someone in this country.

"I don't want compensation. For the heartache and after one bad holiday I just thought they would show more compassion."

Since arriving back in north east Wales, Mr Roberts has been issued a refund of the baggage name-change fee and €141 ($227) for Sandra's flights.

He added to MailOnline Travel: "They rang me today and apologised. They said they are paying me back my wife's money for the flights.

"I am glad they're giving me it back but it shouldn't have got to that point in the first place.

"All I wanted was an apology. It's just upsetting."

A spokesperson for Ryanair told MailOnline Travel: "Customers on the same booking are entitled to move bags free of charge. However our handling agent at Ibiza Airport, Lesma Handling, failed to implement this policy and has since taken measures to ensure this error does not recur.

"We apologise to Mr Roberts for any inconvenience caused, have refunded the €30 charge and offer our sincere condolences to him and his family."