Ryanair refused me boarding at the aircraft, then recorded it as a “Missed Departure”
On 17 September 2026 I was booked on Ryanair flight FR5625 from Pisa to Manchester.
My boarding pass showed DOCUMENT VERIFIED, seat 06F, and I reached the aircraft.
At the aircraft I was refused boarding after an allegation that I had been vaping while walking from the gate towards the plane. I dispute that allegation.
My son was walking with me the whole way. He says he did not see me use a vape, hold one to my mouth, or exhale vapour.
He was allowed to board.
Before boarding had finished, he says he personally saw another passenger sitting in my allocated seat 06F.
I do not know why that passenger was there. I am not claiming the flight was overbooked, that the seat was double-sold, or that it was formally reassigned.
After I was taken back landside, I asked Ryanair for a written explanation for the refusal of boarding. I was not given one.
I then had to pay €100.
The Ryanair receipt categorises that payment as:
“MISSED FLIGHT FEES”
I was then rerouted from Pisa to London Stansted on FR587 instead of Manchester.
Ryanair's updated itinerary records:
“Complimentary Boarding Pass issue”
and:
“Missed Departure”
That is the part I am struggling to understand.
My account is not that I arrived late or failed to appear. I had reached the aircraft and was refused boarding.
I later submitted a compensation complaint. Ryanair's response recorded the flight status as “Delayed” and rejected the claim because:
“Delay was less than 3 hours.”
But my complaint was about being refused boarding, not about a flight arriving three hours late.
So my questions are straightforward:
Why was I charged a “Missed Flight Fee” if I reached the aircraft and was refused boarding?
Why does Ryanair's updated itinerary record “Missed Departure”?
Why was my first complaint dealt with using a less-than-three-hours delay reason?
And why was another passenger sitting in my allocated seat 06F before boarding had finished?
I don't want to speculate about the answers.
I would simply like Ryanair to explain how its own records fit the sequence of events.