Travelers Stranded at Stansted After Ryanair Gaffe

News story posted Aug 3rd on Travel Agent Central.
I think it speaks volumns for the airline not wanting to provide customer service and just pushing everyone to not have nay contact (i.e. check in online, etc). Lesson learned; You get what you pay for, but also the second lesson here is as customers, we should demand service. Not just accept no service of lack of it. If a business makes decisions you dont agree with, stop doing business with that company!
____________________________________________

Hundreds of travelers missed their flights from Stansted yesterday after Ryanair failed to open enough check-in desks.
The low-cost carrier is being blamed for only opening 11 check-in desks for 255 fights on what is one of the busiest weekends on the holiday calendar.
About 500 passengers had to find alternative flights or cancel their vacations altogether, and some, including those with young children, were sleeping in the terminal. Police officers at the terminal were called upon to ease the mounting tension and help out with coordinating the queues.
The chaos has called into question the airline’s policy of encouraging passengers to check in online, and saying it plans to scrap check-in altogether from October.
Ryanair subcontracts its check-in desks to Swissport, but neither was available for comment last night.