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Former Derbyshire County Council leader David Bookbinder says he is fuming after Ryanair refused to allow his wife on to a holiday flight.

Mr Bookbinder, 78, and his Chinese-born wife Wang Yi were stuck at East Midlands Airport after he said Ryanair refused to let them on to the plane.

The couple were jetting off to Tenerife for a holiday but were not able to make the flight.

Mr Bookbinder claims Ryanair staff refused to allow Wang Yi to fly because she does not have a visa for travel in the EU Schengen zone of countries.

But he says that because she is travelling with him on his British passport, she does not need a visa.

He said: "Ryanair staff are adamant but they simply just do not know the rules.

"I have had to ring their emergency line and, when I finally got through, he said he could not hear me and for me to ring back again. It's ridiculous."

A Ryanair spokeswoman said: "It is each customer’s own responsibility to ensure they have the correct travel documents for their journey, as stated in our terms & 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.”

(Image: Derbyshire Live)

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