“It was ridiculous on their behalf.”
An Irish golfer was forced to bin his trophy at a Ryanair check-in desk over the weekend after the airline refused to allow him to bring it home in the cabin.
Joe Lyons from Galway won the Spanish Seniors Amateur Open on Sunday in Seville but had his celebrations cut short after he was forced to leave his trophy behind.
The 51-year-old was at the airport with his wife but neither cut fit the trophy in their hand luggage.
Irish golfer forced to bin trophy at Ryanair check-in desk
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Lyons said that he went up to the desk with his hand luggage and trophy, however, “the staff said we couldn’t board with the trophy unless we could put it in our hand luggage.”
“[Lyons’ wife] Vera tried to put it into her hand luggage, and she actually got it in a good bit of the way, but the zip on her luggage wouldn’t close.
Thank you @Ryanair for refusing to allow me bring the Spanish Open Trophy home with me after a great week in Seville!
— Joe Lyons (@joelyons63) February 25, 2024
The staff said that it couldn’t get on the plane unless all the zips could close, so Mr Lyons’ replied by saying “You know what folks, just leave it there. If that’s the way you want to be about it, you can keep it”.
The golfer admitted that he “kind of threw the toys out of the pram a bit” as the airline staff replied by saying they’ll be throwing the trophy in the bin.
“So I said, ‘Well throw it in the bin then, I’m going home’ and I headed down the gangway,” he added.
Lyons said that the prize he was unable to bring home was not the real trophy, but a replica.
“I am lucky enough that I have had a few wins down through the years and I have plenty of trophies.
“Winning yesterday, nothing will take the shine off that, to be honest. It was a very satisfying performance.
Despite staying positive over the situation, Lyons said that it was “ridiculous on [Ryanair’s] behalf.”
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