Woman fears for her life after Ryanair leaves 43kg dialysis machine behind over ‘too heavy’ row
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A woman who relies on a dialysis machine to stay alive says she feared for her life after Ryanair left the 43kg medical device behind at the airport because it was allegedly “too heavy”.
Samantha Mitchell, 39, was flying from London Stansted to Reggio Calabria in southern Italy for a two-week holiday on July 26 when the nightmare began.
The SEN teacher, who requires dialysis five times a week, says she checked in her machine before being called back to the airline desk.
She was reportedly told the device was too heavy to be carried in the cabin.
But Samantha says she produced medical documentation and was reassured by a supervisor that the machine could travel in the aircraft hold.
It was only after landing in Italy that she discovered the life-saving equipment had never left Britain.
Samantha was due to undergo dialysis that evening and says she was left crying and panicking as staff tried to track down the machine.
“I was literally fearing for my life,” she said.
The machine was eventually put on the next available flight and delivered by taxi to her accommodation the following day.
But Samantha says she had already begun feeling unwell and was “swelling up” by the time it arrived.
She claims she stopped eating and drinking because she was worried about toxins building up in her bloodstream and began contacting hospitals to find alternative treatment.
Samantha said: “Without it I would be very swollen and it would have become hard to breathe.”
She also says the experience has left her frightened about flying home and reluctant to travel again.
Her mum Elaine described the incident as a “life and death situation”, saying the family was left traumatised.
The incident is particularly upsetting for Samantha because she says she previously experienced problems travelling with the same dialysis machine. She hit headlines in 2018 after claiming she was denied boarding over its weight.
Ryanair has apologised, saying the machine was not loaded because of “an error made by the check-in agent”.
The airline said it “rushed” the device onto the next available flight after the mistake was discovered and arranged a taxi to deliver it directly to Samantha.
The airline said she received the machine on July 27.
A Stansted Airport spokesperson said it was an issue for Ryanair to comment on.
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