In-flight purchases are expensive. It definitely makes you rethink that sandwich and cocktail you were eye-balling on the menu. Well, you might steer clear of those high-altitude travel goodies after you hear this one. Police escorted a couple off a Ryanair flight after their credit card wouldn’t read for a purchase of Pringles and a couple beverages. 

A couple on a Ryanair flight were escorted away by police after they couldn’t pay for $9.25 worth of in-flight snacks and drinks

Ann-Marie Murray was on a Ryanair flight from Tenerife, Spain, to Bristol, England, with her partner. The 55-year-old British mom decided to order from the airline’s in-flight food and drink options. Nothing too extravagant; just a can of Pringles, a bottle of water, and a soda. The total? Why, a staggering £7 (about $9.25) for the feast. But that was more than enough to land the couple in hot water with the authorities.

According to the Mirror, Murray attempted to pay for the Pringles and drinks with her credit card. But the card reader didn’t work. Ryanair staff retrieved another machine. No luck still. “I was doing my best to pay. I tried to tap and pay, the machine didn’t work,” Murray said of the ordeal. “They tried with another machine, and when it still didn’t go through, I offered to get cash when we landed, but they said I couldn’t do that.”

So, what to do with the $9.25 discrepancy? Call the cops, of course. No kidding, the Ryanair staff called ahead to Bristol to have a police contingent on standby. “I thought it was a joke when the crew said they had called the police,” Murray recounted.

“They then told the police that I had refused to pay, but that wasn’t the case,” Murray said. “I wanted to pay, but my card didn’t work, and I had no cash.” Unfortunately, Murray says the event “ruined” her trip to the Spanish island, which was a celebration of her 55th birthday. It is, however, a sobering reminder to carry multiple payment options and some petty cash when traveling.