Sri Lankan cricket legend disputes Ryanair's claims over visa document row
Dubai: Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has accused a Ryanair staff member of making a racist remark and threatening to prevent him and his family from boarding a flight at Dublin Airport, disputing the airline’s claim that he initially refused to provide visa documents.
Sangakkara was returning to Bristol with his family after a two-day visit to Dublin to celebrate his 49th birthday when confusion arose over the electronic visas linked to their Sri Lankan passports. He said staff at the airport’s visa desk had earlier assured him that he did not need to download the documents again at the boarding gate.
However, a member of staff asked him to access the e-visas and repeatedly told him to hurry. Sangakkara said he asked for more time, but the exchange escalated when he challenged the staff member’s tone.
While he publicly accused the airline earlier this week, Sangakkara recently spoke to Daily Mail Sport. He alleged that the employee threatened to treat him as a danger to other passengers. “I’m going to treat you as a threat to other passengers on board and not board you,” the agent allegedly told cricket legend.
Sangakkara said he was taken aback by the threat, particularly as he was trying to access the required e-visa documents. He also alleged that the agent described him as argumentative and aggressive after he challenged her manner of speaking.
The 48-year-old also claimed the Ryanair agent told him: “You people with your kinds of passports should expect this.” His wife, Yehali, challenged the remark, which Sangakkara described as racist. Yehali also claimed that everyone in Dublin had been nice to them except the Ryanair agent.
The family eventually boarded the flight, but he said the staff member refused to provide her name when he asked to make a formal complaint. The agent allegedly continued to threaten the Sri Lankan legend as a response.
Ryanair had earlier alleged that Sangakkara “refused to provide the required visa documentation” during mandatory immigration checks . The airline said the checks were completed, his eligibility to travel was verified and he boarded the scheduled Dublin-to-Bristol flight on October 28.
Sangakkara rejected that account, saying he had never refused to show the documents. He has since submitted a complaint to the airline, outlining the incident in a 2,000-word account, and is awaiting a response.
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