Boy, 6, left in tears after Ryanair flight mix-up sees window seat get double-booked

A woman left a child in tears on a flight by refusing to move out of the seat he was booked in.

A woman left a child in tears on a Ryanair flight by refusing to move out of the seat he was booked in.

The airline said an “IT glitch” caused the double booking that led to the six-year-old boy unable to sit in the seat he had picked, The Sun reported.

Ryan Bandli boarded the flight from Budapest with his parents and was expecting to sit by the window, which helps him stay calm during air travel.

However his seat on the flight, operated by Ryanair subsidiary airline Buzz, was double booked due to an IT error.

Want to stream your news? Flash lets you stream 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

Ryan Bandli was left in tears after the passenger refused to give up the window seat she had booked. Picture: Mirrorpix

Sitting in his spot was a woman, who showed Ryan’s parents a seat booking with the same seat number on it.

She wouldn’t budge, despite being asked to, and flight attendants showed Ryan to an aisle seat instead.

The child, who doesn’t like flying, felt anxious and upset throughout his flight back to the UK and was left in tears.

His mother Adri said he is “very reactive” and doesn’t deal with stressful situations very well.

She told the Mirror that flight attendants had “begged them” to give their seat reservation to the woman instead of letting him have the window seat.

She said: “Ryan was really upset and anxious and he cried.

“He didn’t understand how this could happen. We sat separately and it was really stressful.”

Ryan was comforted by his dad after being left in the aisle seat. Picture: Mirrorpix

Ryanair have since refunded Adri the reservation costs that she paid to have Ryan sitting in a seat that would help ease his anxiety about the flight.

The airline told the Mirror that an “IT glitch” was to blame.

A spokesperson said: “This Buzz passenger’s seat was not sold twice; this misunderstanding was as a result of an isolated IT glitch. Unfortunately as the flight was fully booked, there were no other window seats available.

“Buzz regrets the inconvenience caused to Ms. Bandli and her son and a member of our customer services team will contact them directly.”

This story was originally published by The Sun and was reproduced with permission