The first time I visited Italy as a tourist was to Rome in February 2020, the month before the lockdowns began. I remember leaving Fiumcino Airport on my return home, thinking that the authorities were being a bit paranoid with their haz-mat space suits. Little did we know. I returned to Italy to Venice in October 2020 – an unforgettable experience as I saw the city without the company of the tens of thousands of travelers who would normally be present. For my third time during the time of Covid, I was once again setting down in the great country of Italy. My destination this time was Tuscany.

Thanks to Ryanair I had return flights in and out of Pisa for 100eur. Our itinerary for the trip started in Pisa for one night; followed by Siena for a night; Florence for four nights and then Pisa again to catch my 7.15am airplane home. People often complain about Ryanair for its lack of flexibility and its punitive response to any transgression from its arbitrary rules. I now know how they feel. I was taking an afternoon flight. I worked from home during the morning and had planned to check in. Work distracted me so it was only as I pulled into the airport that I took out my phone to do this essential task. Unfortunately it was now under two hours to take off. For the luxury of my boarding pass I had to pay an additional fee of 55eur. While it is exploitative it’s how that gurning gremlin Michael O’Leary operates. You can’t pretend to be surprised that Ryanair behaves this way. They pride themselves on it. I paid the charge without complaint. Why waste the oxygen?

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