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17th January 2019
05:39pm GMT
An elderly Ryanair passenger ended up 1,200 miles away from his planned destination after he was allowed to board the wrong flight, it’s just been revealed.
Pawel Lawreniuk, 75, found himself in a nightmare scenario when he was flying home from visiting his daughter in the UK, as he boarded a flight to Malta instead of his hometown of Gdansk, Poland.
He boarded the Malta flight at Leeds Bradford Airport on January 6 and was allowed to take a seat on the plane despite having the wrong ticket - for Gdansk.
The 75-year-old only became aware of his mistake when he tried to get a taxi from Malta Airport and realised no one could speak Polish.
Thankfully, a woman who speaks Polish overheard him and was able to help him get on a flight home to Gdansk from Malta later that day, which was lucky since there are only two flights on that route per week.
His daughter Lucyna later said, “I cried, I was scared – he was in a different country, a different place. I don’t know how it is possible for him to make it all the way to Malta.
“If someone didn’t come forward, I’m not sure what would have happened, he had no money, no phone, he can’t really do anything alone.”
A Swissport spokesperson confirmed in a statement, “We are aware that a passenger was able to board an incorrect flight at Leeds Bradford Airport on Sunday January 6.
“The passenger had undergone all airport security screening before boarding the flight and had a valid passport which had been checked.
“We are investigating how this occurred and we are re-briefing all staff on procedure. We would like to apologise to Mr Lawreniuk for the inconvenience caused."
