Ryanair criticised as Christmas ‘miracle’ gift vouchers fail to land

People who bought Ryanair gift cards as last minute presents have reported being left red-faced on Christmas morning after the airline failed to send the vouchers despite taking the money from their accounts.

In the run-up to December 25th the airline heavily promoted the sale of its gift cards suggesting they could be used as a “last minute miracle” and would make “the perfect gifts this Christmas”.

However, some people who took up the airline’s offer and purchased vouchers have been left fuming as emails containing the codes to activate the virtual gift cards were not sent by the airline to the intended recipients in time for the exchange of presents.

Complaints started appearing as early as December 24th on social media platforms from people who had bought the gift cards as presents but were left feeling let down by the airline. Some expressed anger over Ryanair’s failure to address any of their concerns or to let them know what had happened to the would-be presents.

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“Good job Santa didn’t rely on you to fly his sleigh,” one poster noted. “Money gone, no email, no gift sent despite a cheery ‘All done! We’ll send within 15 mins’. Zilch, 9 hrs later. Adds stress.”

Ryanair customers who contacted The Irish Times directly were equally annoyed.

Jules Savage said she bought €100 worth of vouchers on Christmas morning and “despite their promise to deliver it within an hour” she had still had received nothing from the airline 48-hours later.

“The money is gone from my account and when I contacted their customer care, the unhelpful reply was ‘no refund, wait another day and get back in touch’,” she said.

Ms Savage said she received her vouchers on Tuesday morning (December 27th) more than 48 hours after the purchase.

Gary Farrell said he was also left hanging by the airline and that the experience had left a “bad taste in my mouth”.

He said it was “very frustrating and slightly embarrassing as it was meant as a gift for my mam” and expressed disappointment at what he said was the “radio silence from Ryanair across all their communication channels”.

Barry Hennessy was supposed to be receiving rather than giving a Ryanair gift card.

“A family member purchased a Ryanair voucher for me for Christmas. We first became aware of an issue on Christmas morning when he asked me if I’d received it and I hadn’t,” he said. “It was only when I checked Twitter this morning that I realised the extent of the problem. I just think it’s a disgrace that Ryanair don’t fess up to issues without having to be found out.”

The Irish Times has contacted Ryanair about the issues raised and is awaiting a response.