- After a disagreement over snacks, a woman was banned from flying with low-cost airline Ryanair.
- The passenger ordered chips, but her credit card did not go through. She began to consume them.
- On landing, local police met her and escorted to her destination.
After a birthday visit to the Canary Islands with her partner for four nights, Ann-Marie Murray, was on a Ryanair flight from Tenerife back to Bristol, England, when she did the most mundane of in-flight activities: she ordered a can of Pringles, Coke, and bottle of water from the snack cart, which added up to £7 (about $9.27 USD).
The 55-year old mother from Gloucester, UK tried tapping her card onto the payment reader. It didn’t work. Another machine was brought, but it didn’t work either. Murray offered the couple some cash as soon as they landed. The staff told her she couldn’t. told The Mirror UK of the March 28 trip.
Her partner asked Ryanair if the crew wanted to return the Pringles, but when they refused, she began eating them.
The airline, however, has a completely different view. In a press release, they said: “While crew worked to resolve the issue of payment, this passenger ignored crew instructions and consumed the items before payment was made. He then became disruptive.”
Murray was surprised to learn that story. She told the British newspaper, “I didn’t disrupt.” “There was no shouting.”
The Dublin-based airline reacted by alerting authorities on the ground. Avon and Somerset Police said they had received reports about a “disruptive flight passenger” arriving at Bristol Airport. They met the flight, and then escorted the passenger into a van. “Officers attended briefly, but quickly determined it was a civil dispute. No action was taken.”
Murray was stunned to find authorities waiting for her on the ground. “I was shocked when the crew told me they had called police,” she said. The Mirror. “I was stunned when the police boarded and asked us to leave. It was embarrassing. “I had tried everything to fix it.”
It seems that the tension may have stemmed from Murray filming the incident, As an onboard crew asked her to stop filming. Murray’s video clips have been shared on the internet. She was met by authorities who were kind and polite, and even asked how she enjoyed her trip. One man even said that he didn’t mind being filmed.
Murray: “I was told that we are banned from flying Ryanair after I paid.” The Mirror. “But after what happened, I would never fly with them ever again.”
