When Ryanair announced that it would be operating to Malta with the subsidies provided by the government I was delighted. I was looking forward to travelling to new places while paying less.

But I am not delighted anymore. What was supposed to be my first flight with Ryanair from Malta to Pisa, Flight FR 9993, on Saturday 18 August at 17.45 was cancelled.

The ground personnel were at a loss to explain why the flight was cancelled when the rest of the mostly Italian passengers and myself enquired about any justification for such cancellation. To add insult to injury, we were told that no re-routing would be provided, and we were asked to check whether Air Malta and Alitalia had any available flights to Rome or Milan, and if there were flights available we had to fork out the money. Besides, we were asked to go to Malta International Airport on Tuesday 21 August for the next available flight. However, at the same time the person in charge told us that that flight was already fully booked. So why on earth should I present myself when I am sure I would not be able to board the aircraft?

Ryanair managed to ruin my summer holiday. All my plans had to be cancelled. This shows that Ryanair is not only a low cost carrier; its service is also very poor. I would have accepted a delay, but a total cancellation is unheard of. I am aware that airlines do have technical problems occasionally, but one would have expected Ryanair to provide the best alternative to its clients who had chosen to travel with the airline. Propose alternatives such as rerouting or a delayed flight at least, not just a simple statement to call at the airport on Tuesday. This is shameful.

Not only did I pay for a flight that cost me Lm113.55, which is not that low for a two-hour trip, I also lost EUR16 for the one way journey from Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport to Florence S.M. Novella Station, which I had booked with Terravision from Ryanair’s website. I’ve lost EUR72 as well since I didn’t turn up at the hotel in Florence, and was charged for the first night. I also had two bookings costing EUR37 for the entrance to the Uffizi Art Gallery on 22 August, which of course are lost too. Luckily, I hadn’t booked the train tickets from Florence to Bologna, Pisa, Lucca and Siena beforehand.

Thanks to Ryanair my holiday is gone. Gone are my plans to visit Florence and Tuscany. I had spent hours on the Internet planning my itinerary. Who will compensate me for that? Who will reimburse me the money I spent on books and maps about Florence and Tuscany? The least I expect now is for all my money to be reimbursed, and I hope that in the future Ryanair will be more courteous towards its passengers.

I will definitely fly Air Malta next time, or Alitalia, the airline that Ryanair doesn’t even want for free, but which is certainly better. This is because I have experienced the unprofessional handling of the situation by an airline that is not service orientated.

When I checked in the clerk referred me to the help desk without any explanation. The help desk just gave me a form to fill and I was asked to send it within five days when I feel that they should have processed it on my behalf. To add insult to injury, the handling of the frustrated passengers left much to be desired. As much as I was looking forward to my holiday and travelling with Ryanair, I will never click again on Ryanair’s website, and I will ensure that all my acquaintances will never travel with this cheap carrier.

Adrian Muscat

Ta’ XbieX