Knaresborough nurse pays high price for avoiding quarantine

An NHS nurse from Knaresborough who cancelled flights to Spain to avoid 2 weeks quarantine on return says she’s lost more than a thousand pounds which she can’t get back.

Julie Weston paid £1032 for the Ryanair flights for her family to celebrate her sister-in-law’s wedding in Spain last month. Two days before flying, on Saturday July 25, the UK Foreign Office announced anyone travelling back from Spain had to quarantine for two weeks, so Julie cancelled the flight.

Because the flight still went ahead it meant she was not entitled to get a refund or voucher from Ryanair.

Julie argues that as an NHS worker she had little choice but to cancel the trip as quarantine was not an option. She said:

“When they brought in quarantine that’s what caused the stress. We had packed and were due to fly on the Monday. Ryanair wouldn’t cancel the flight and said it would go ahead regardless of the Foreign Office. I’m a nurse for the NHS so I couldn’t quarantine and my partner is the owner at a garage in Starbeck so he couldn’t quarantine either. I drove to Leeds Bradford Airport with my partner and they unchecked us in and tried to change flights for early next year, the price was nearly £800 more so I said we’re not flying, it’s not worth it. They gave us nothing even as the flight took off!”

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After an incredibly stressful year at work with coronavirus her holiday had given her something to look forward to.

“My mum fell ill last year which has led to other complications so we’re still getting over that, along with covid. I lost my Mum in February. I had a short time off work after that and then went straight back onto a covid ward. It’s really upsetting and I still haven’t come to terms with it yet. I just think Ryanair should treat people better. Loads of people feel the same. We are prepared to pay a decent company now that answers our calls.”

The family’s flights were booked on Julie’s credit card for protection last September, but because they were not cancelled by Ryanair she was not covered by the Consumer Credit Act.

Julie is due to meet with her bank, Halifax, in Ripon today, where she is hoping to get some money back.

She said:

“It will probably be 2022 before we rebook. It’ll give us time to save up again.”