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Home  >  Law In Travel • Ryanair  >  Ryanair Ordered To Pay Damages After Hot Tea Burns Child Onboard
Law In TravelRyanair

Ryanair Ordered To Pay Damages After Hot Tea Burns Child Onboard

Matthew Klint Posted onAugust 13, 2022November 13, 2023 6 Comments

a woman standing in an airplane

Ryanair agreed to pay £3,500 in damages after a flight attendant purportedly failed to secure the lid on a hot cup of tea, leading to an eight-year-old being burned on her legs and stomach.

Ryanair Will Pay Damages After Child Burned By Hot Tea Onboard

The girl was siting on the aisle next to her grandmother, who ordered the tea. According to her family, the crew placed the tea on the girl’s tray table. When she picked it up to hand to her grandmother, the lid fell off and she was scalded.

As a father with a young daughter myself, I can imagine what went through the mind of the child’s father when he suddenly heard his daughter, who was sitting a few rows ahead of him, scream out in pain. He jumped up and after surveying the damage, immediately began treating the burns with cool water in the lavatory.

“When I heard her, I just jumped up and ran to the front of the plane where they were sitting as I was sat several rows behind, they hadn’t even tried to get her out of the seat, she was left sitting in the hot water. I took her to the toilet and splashed cold water on her.”

Flight attendants, while apologetic, exacerbated the matter by offering ice to the burn victim.

“Fortunately I have done first aid courses and knew you shouldn’t put ice on a burn. She was in complete shock. I then had to change her clothes in view of the other passengers and put her in a blanket and calm her down.”

The plane, traveling from Venice (VCE) to London Stansted (STN) landed and flight attendants did not address the issue again. The family hired a solicitor, who demanded that Ryanair pay damages for the accident.

Ryanair has denied liability, insisting instead the child was “the author of her own misfortune.” It further insisted that the lid was properly secured and that it was the grandmother who set it on the child’s tray and also knocked it over.

“It is clear from our insurer’s investigation that your client was the author of her own misfortune.”

Nevertheless, the company agreed to pay a £3,500 settlement. Under the Montreal Convention, personal injury that occurs onboard imposes strict liability (liability which does not depend on actual negligence or intent to harm), with very few exceptions, on the air carrier. Because the child was a minor, a court had to agree to the settlement figure, which it did via an order for Ryanair to pay out some .

CONCLUSION

Ryanair has been ordered to pay a family £3,500 after an eight-year-old was scalded by hot tea onboard. The compensation issue aside, burns are a horrible thing. Let this be a reminder to handle hot drinks with the utmost of care onboard a flight.

image: iStock // H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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6 Comments

  1. Tony N Reply
    August 13, 2022 at 10:39 am

    So now we’re all going to have to get lukewarm or cold tea and coffee on board.

    • William Robert Reply
      August 13, 2022 at 10:44 am

      Good, then I won’t have to wait 10 minutes before I can take a sip

  2. William Robert Reply
    August 13, 2022 at 10:42 am

    What a callous defense and a stingy settlement. If a child sticks a knife in the electrical socket I’m not going to say “oh well, she was the author of her own misfortune”. The family’s version sounds more believable to me and a child shouldn’t be given the opportunity to handle hot tea in a paper cup

    • PolishKnight Reply
      August 13, 2022 at 11:35 am

      Reading the complaint, I’m reminded of the McD’s infamous coffee case which has since been reviewed. Should a hot beverage truly be served scalding hot, or at a reduced safe temperature in an unstable environment (such as a moving car in a drive through, a plane table tray, etc.)? In the event of turbulence, the cup of tea could have become a missile spraying scalding liquid over multiple passengers.

      In the very least, a dangerous drink shouldn’t be handed off to a child and this is a lack of training for the FA.

  3. Jackie Chiles Reply
    August 13, 2022 at 11:36 am

    Now, when she took a sip, did she notice it was hot? Was she able to sip it in her normal fashion?

  4. Mr. Marcus Reply
    August 13, 2022 at 11:43 am

    I wish the child the best in recovering.

    My parenting experience has taught me that the combination of a grandparent, a young child, and a hot beverage is an accident waiting to happen.

    As someone who travels with young children with some regularity too, the setup of the child in the aisle and a drink being passed over, also not a great idea. The commercial airline seating/tray arrangement make spills much more likely than in a home or restaurant type environment. Also the spill almost always end up on the person, rather than just the table.

    Lastly, I wonder if I can get any compensation for the hot beer I was served on my recent RyanAir flight. It was a hot heineken, and no I don’t mean room temperature. I drank it though, like it was a college challenge. That was a regrettable decision.

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