Terminally ill mum refused refund from airline and wished 'speedy recovery'

01 March 2023 , 08:08

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easyJet said they will investigate why Katie Warner was refused a refund (Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The airline easyJet has apologised to a terminally ill mum in Bristol and issued her a refund after they initially refused.

Katie Warner, 31, was wished a "speedy recovery" and was previously told being issued a refund "would not be fair on other passengers."

The mum wanted a holiday in Scotland with her husband and daughter, but she said "We had booked return flights, then Covid hit and Scotland closed.

"We immediately got a refund for the motorhome we had booked. I went on to easyJet’s website and filled out a form for a refund and was sent a voucher."

The budget airline is now looking into why Katie was not offered a full refund despite her circumstances, Bristol Live reports.

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They had originally explained to her that the voucher she was issued in place of her ticket could not be refunded.

easyJet have now apologised (Bristol Live)

The flight, from Bristol to Inverness, cost £178.86. Katie explained that she would be unable to fly as she was going back on chemotherapy, meaning her immune system would be affected.

Her voucher was then extended to July 2021 and then another six months after that.

Katie added: "In December, I was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, the doctor told me ‘I had too many brain tumours to count’.

"As a family, we decided to book to go to Poland in January and have a fantastic time. But when my brother tried to use the voucher, they (easyJet) said no and that the voucher had expired."

Still hoping for a refund, Katie tried arguing with easyJet's customer service.

"I just wanted my money back," she said. "I told them I was terminally ill and the customer services wished me a 'speedy recovery'.”

She continued: "It was completely offensive and insensitive... I want to make memories and not fight with easyJet for the time I have left."

A spokesperson for easyJet said: "We are incredibly sorry to hear about Ms Warner’s circumstances and our thoughts are with her and her family at this difficult time. We have been in touch with her to provide a full refund and offer our sincere apologies for her experience, as this is absolutely not the level of care and understanding we want to show our customers.

"We will always refund customers who are no longer able to fly due to difficult circumstances such as these, and so we are looking into why this didn’t happen for Ms Warner as it should have on this occasion."

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