British Airways has offered to fly Cambridgeshire train attack hero Stephen Crean to Portugal after he was refused a refund by Ryanair. Crean, 61, was booked to fly with Ryanair to Austria to watch Nottingham Forest in action, but was hospitalized after risking his life to defend fellow train passengers during the mass stabbing incident in the UK earlier this month.
Despite his heroic actions, Ryanair stuck to their guns and refused to issue Crean a refund, saying it does not make exemptions for personal circumstances. British Airways will fly Crean and a companion in business class to Porto and pay for a two-night stay in a five-star hotel when Nottingham Forest play Sporting Braga in January.
As reported by The Independent, the British carrier said it had offered Crean two Club Europe return tickets to Porto, as well as two nights at the five-star PortoBay Flores hotel. The trip will take place around Nottingham Forest’s visit to Portugal on January 22, 2026, following Crean missing his team’s previous European engagement in Austria on November 6.
Nottingham Forest also caught wind of Crean’s situation and has offered to cover the tickets to the game against Sporting Braga, which will be a milestone occasion for Forest, representing the club’s first-ever European game contested in Portugal. Additionally, it has also invited him onboard the private team jet for another European away game next year.
Calum Laming, Chief Customer Officer at British Airways, said,
“Stephen’s actions that day were heroic. In a moment of terrifying danger, he put the safety and welfare of others ahead of his own. We’re delighted to offer him this gesture as a small way of expressing our gratitude and recognition for his remarkable courage and bravery.”
The Club Europe Experience
For a man traveling to watch his football club play in Europe, it’s fitting that Crean and his plus-one will be flying in BA’s Club Europe class, which is the airline’s short-haul business class product.
BA operates a daily flight between 
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Porto (OPO), typically flown by its Airbus A320-200 aircraft. Its schedule involves an afternoon outbound flight to Porto, followed by an evening return leg to London.
The airline’s A320-200 based at Gatwick can seat a maximum of 177 passengers, although BA will designate up to eight rows as Club Europe seats, blocking off the middle seat in typical Euro-biz style. Club Europe is about more than the seat, with guests also entitled to lounge access, priority services and complimentary food and refreshments onboard.
Ryanair Sticks To Its Policy
When Crean was left unable to travel abroad in the days following the mass stabbing, his friends got in touch with Ryanair to try and get a refund on his behalf. However, the Irish low-cost carrier has a strict non-refundance fare policy and would not make an exception in Crean’s case. In a public statement, the airline also advised its travelers to take out travel insurance.
Like most budget airlines, Ryanair fares are sold non-refundable as standard. Although the carrier offers a “Flexi Plus” option when booking fares, this permits more flexible reservation changes, but not refunds. The airline clarifies on its website that it does not offer refunds in instances where passengers are unable to travel due to serious illness.
Ten people were injured during the attack, which happened on a LNER train heading for London. As for Crean, he will require plastic surgery on his left hand after sustaining multiple stab wounds to his hand, back and head. Over $80,000 has been raised for Crean on JustGiving, of which $15,000 was donated by Nottingham Forest. While he had to settle for watching Forest’s game against Austria’s Sturm Graz from his local pub, Crean was invited to the City Ground on November 9 as Forest took on Leeds United, watching from the stadium’s exclusive director’s box as a guest of owner Evangelos Marinakis.
