Ryanair fooled us into considering we had been flying into Frankfurt for the Christmas markets – then landed us at an airport practically 100 miles away
A mother-of-two claims Ryanair ‘fooled’ her family into believing they were flying to Frankfurt to see the Christmas markets – but were instead taken to an airport nearly 100 miles away.
Bridget Brown was travelling to Frankfurt, Germany, earlier this month for a one-night getaway alongside her partner and two friends.
The 48-year-old flew from London Stansted Airport via Ryanair on December 7 to visit the city’s famous festive markets.
But after arriving at the airport, Bridget was shocked to discover her group’s flight was heading to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport rather than Frankfurt Airport, which they had mistakenly believed was the destination when booking the trip.
Frankfurt Airport is just over seven miles from the city centre, but Frankfurt-Hahn is a staggering 80 miles or 92 miles, depending on the road taken.
Bridget, who lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire, was horrified to discover their destination was nearly a two-hour drive from the city centre markets they hoped to visit.
The midwife said dozens of people had made the same mistake as her on the plane, with passengers frantically researching ways to travel into the city.
Bridget was outraged when she arrived at the ‘shoebox’ airport that resembled a ‘German military base’ and discovered she was hours away from their booked hotel.
Mother-of-two Bridget Brown from St Albans, Hertfordshire, pictured with her partner, Daniel Farney, claims she was ‘fooled’ by Ryanair into flying to an airport labelled as ‘Frankfurt’ but which is actually 100 miles away from the German city
Bridget Brown was travelling to Frankfurt, Germany, earlier this month for a one-night getaway alongside her partner and two friends
The group flew from London Stansted Airport via Ryanair on December 7 to visit the city’s famous festive markets – but landed a two-hour drive away from their destination
To make matters worse, Bridget and her group were forced to fork out €350 (£290) on a taxi to travel into central Frankfurt.
Bridget believes the low-budget airline company are leaving their customers ‘stranded’ by ‘misselling’ a flight destination.
Bridget said: ‘[When we were booking the flight] it really obviously said Frankfurt, then added at the side it said ‘Frankfurt-Hahn’. We didn’t think anything of it when we saw that.
‘We just presumed that it was Frankfurt. When we got to the airport, we were looking for our flight and it didn’t say Frankfurt, it said Hahn.
‘Then my friend’s partner looked where Hahn was on his phone and we realised it was two hours away from Frankfurt where the Christmas markets are.
‘We just didn’t understand how it had happened and thought this is going to be an absolute nightmare.
‘When we got on the plane, we overheard another couple say ‘we can’t believe we’re flying to this airport’ and then other people on the plane started realising we weren’t actually going to Frankfurt.
‘The poor girl sitting next to me burst into tears and started Googling where this place we were actually going to was.
Upon arriving at Frankfurt-Hahn airport, Bridget, pictured with her friend Joanne Tester-Wilson, began frantically searching for a way to travel into the city, and ended up forking out more than €700 (£580) for transport back and forth to the airport
Ryanair’s website does not explicitly state where ‘Hahn’ is at the point of booking a flight
In the information section, travellers are informed on how to travel around Frankfurt, but there is no mention of how to get from Hahn to Frankfurt
‘We realised that literally everyone on the plane had made the same mistake.
‘Dozens of people were completely unaware we were flying into the middle of nowhere.’
Upon arriving at Frankfurt-Hahn airport, Bridget and her friends began frantically searching for a way to travel into the city, and ended up forking out more than €700 (£580) for transport back and forth to the airport.
Bridget said: ‘Hahn looks like some little military base with old German war bunkers surrounding it. There’s absolutely nothing there.
‘The airport was like a shoebox. It just wasn’t somewhere anyone would go to ever unless they lived in Hahn. There’s nothing there. We felt stranded in the middle of nowhere.
‘They had a train connection to Frankfurt which takes over three hours. People were trying to hire cars, but they’d all sold out.
‘There was an eight-seater taxi outside and he quoted us €350 to get to Hahn.
‘I went back into the airport and picked up the first people walking out through passport control and asked if they wanted to share a cab to split the cost.
Bridget and her friends believe they were ‘missold’ their flight to Frankfurt to see the city’s famous Christmas markets
The mother-of-two claims it is ‘inaccurate’ for Ryanair to advertise Frankfurt as ‘Frankfurt-Hahn Airport’ when the site is hours away from the actual city. Pictured: A Ryanair flight on the tarmac at Hahn Airport, Germany
‘We had to fork out money that we were going to be using on presents and things like that.
‘People are just totally unaware that they’re going to the middle of nowhere. We thought it would be this really lovely day and ended up being this weekend of having to organise transfers and paying each other money.’
Bridget believes it’s ‘inaccurate’ for Ryanair to advertise Frankfurt as ‘Frankfurt-Hahn Airport’ when the site is hours away from the actual city.
Bridget said: ‘It’s inaccurate to have Frankfurt on that ticket.
‘Ryanair should be saying Hahn, then in brackets Frankfurt. It should be advertised as a flight to Hahn, not Frankfurt, especially at this time of year when people are taking their loved ones away to the Christmas markets.
‘Ryanair are fooling people into thinking they’re flying to Frankfurt for the Christmas markets. We were missold something.’
On its website, travellers are advised on activities and places to visit in Frankfurt.
There are details on how to travel around the city, but no mention that the flight will be arriving in Hahn or how to get from Hahn airport to Frankfurt within the information section provided.
Ryanair has been contacted for comment.
