16 September 2023 , 12:16
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An SAS veteran says he was left stranded at an airport after a mix-up over his boarding pass meant he was stopped from boarding a Ryanair flight.
Brian Denver, from Bolton, was unable to catch his flight from Cork to Manchester Airport on Thursday, September 7. The 76-year-old goes by the name Brian, but his passport is under his Christian name Bernard.
After noticing the name on his boarding pass didn't match, check-in staff refused to let him board despite him showing various other forms of ID. The retired haulage company boss had already missed a flight earlier that day after turning up late to the airport due to an accident on the roads.
He ended up catching a later flight to Liverpool - for free - but didn't land until 11.30pm, meaning he missed the last train home. The veteran, who served in the SAS for 10 years, waited in the city centre until 5am the next day, and eventually made it home two hours later.
Mr Denver, a dad of eight and grandad of four who is partially sighted after suffering a stroke, told the Manchester Evening News: "It was probably one of the worst days I've had in the last few years. I fly to Cork about eight times a years and I've never had any problems before.
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"If the girl at the gate had co-operated with her colleagues there wouldn't have been a problem, but it was quite clear she didn't want to do that." The pensioner said he is not seeking compensation, but rather wanted to call attention to the "uncaring" way in which he was treated.
He said: "It was a long day and a long night all for a little bit of confusion which could have been fixed within five minutes. It was a situation that just wasn't necessary." If the name on your boarding pass doesn't match those one your passport and documents, staff could deny you boarding, as some countries require that the names match.
Most airlines will usually correct minor spelling mistakes free of charge, but this is normally for mistakes of up to three characters - after that you may be subject to admin fees. In Mr Denver's case, Ryanair confirmed that he was moved to the next available flight after producing a different travel document that matched the name on his booking.
A spokesperson for the airline said: "In accordance with Ryanair's T&Cs, which this passenger agreed to at the time of booking, passengers' travel documents must match the name in their booking. Therefore, this passenger was correctly denied travel on this flight from Cork to Manchester (7 Sept) as the name on his travel document did not match the name in his booking.
"After boarding for this flight had closed, this passenger presented a different travel document that matched the name on his booking and was moved to the next available flight, which departed Cork Airport 50 mins later." If the name on your boarding pass doesn't match those one your passport and documents, staff could deny you boarding, as some countries require that the names match.