Why can’t I get a full refund on flights I can’t take?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

You could use the booking as the basis for a future Alicante trip (Getty/iStock)

Q We are travelling one way by road to Benidorm in May, so we needed to book flights back. I went on the Ryanair app and booked flights for me and my husband from Alicante to Luton. Unfortunately, my husband at the same time was booking flights from Alicante into Birmingham on the same day.

Ryanair said that I couldn’t have a refund, because the flights were booked from two different email addresses. I did explain that it was impossible, barring time travel, for us to take both flights. How can we be on both flights on the same day from the same airport? Surely I can get a refund on one of them?

Kath C