Ryanair Employee Calls Customer a 'Fat Slob' in Facebook Post
It's widely accepted that Ryanair is no stranger to controversy among the aviation community. In the past month, the airline has faced on board drug use, pilot strikes and an incident in which Paralympian Anne Wafula-Strike was left stranded on a plane. And that’s just scratching the surface.
So, what happened this time?
The story actually begins long before the "fat slob" comment was dropped. Traveler David Bookbinder and his wife, Wang Yi, faced trouble boarding a Ryanair flight when Wang Yi was denied access to the plane due to an invalid visa.
In a statement to The Sun, a Ryanair spokesperson said on the issue: "It is each customer’s own responsibility to ensure they have the correct travel documents for their journey, as stated in our terms and conditions at the time of booking. Our records confirm that the customer in question was not in possession of a valid travel visa and was correctly denied boarding.”
Following the denied boarding, an article about the incident was published by DerbyshireLive and posted on Facebook. The issue was reignited when Ryanair employee, Lauren Coupland, shared her opinion about Bookbinder in the comments section: “I bet his wife was hoping deep down that she wouldn’t get on the flight and he would carry on his journey without her. I mean waking up to that fat slob every morning!”
Yikes. Coupland, who has identified herself as a Ryanair customer service supervisor, has since deleted the comment. However, Ryanair has yet to issue a statement on anything aside from Bookbinder's original claim. Coupland has also deleted any references to Ryanair from her Facebook and social media profiles.
