Ryanair has apologised for the "inappropriate and incorrect" letter it sent to a bereaved son, refusing a refund for the airfare for his now deceased mother.
The budget airline told HuffPost UK that Doug Parsons received an "incorrect" reply to his request for a refund for his £230 airfare for his mother to Fuerteventura in October. Beryl Parsons died in June, after a long struggle with cancer.
Parsons had vowed to carry the urn with his mother's ashes onto the flight to use the seat, and post it on YouTube, in protest at the decision not to refund the money.
Beryl Parsons, who died of cancer in June
The company initially denied Parsons a refund because the death was "not within 28 days of travel".
But Parsons has now received confirmation from the company in a letter from Caroline Green, director of customer services at Ryanair, that he will get his money back.
"I refer to your letter dated the 1st August and regret that our reply of the 6th August was inappropriate and incorrect," she wrote.
"In accordance with our Terms and Conditions you are entitled to a full refund of your mother’s ticket. This refund has been processed today back to your debit card and will be appear in your account in the next 3-5 days when actioned by your bank.
"Please accept my sincere apologies for the error in our original letter and your mother’s untimely
passing."
Parsons, a financial controller for a renewable energy firm in Norwich, told HuffPost UK he was delighted. "It really wasn't the money, it's not a lot of money, but it was the principle a company could act in this way. It's fantastic they've changed their response."