Amal Said – who has Type 1 Diabetes – says she feared for her life inside the bus
Student locked inside bus
A student claims she could have died when she woke up locked inside a FlixBus below-deck on a ferry – even sending goodbye messages to her family. Amal Said set off from London to visit family in Paris on a FlixBus on August 10 and fell asleep as she was tired from working the night before.
The 20-year-old said she drifted off after she went through passport control in Devon and thought the driver would wake her when the bus was on the ferry. But Amal was horrified when she claims to have woken up on an empty bus on the fifth deck of the boat half an hour after it had sailed.
Footage online, which has more than two million views, shows Amal screaming and crying as she discovers her awful predicament – all while vowing she will never go on a FlixBus again. Amal, who has Type 1 Diabetes, said she feared for her life as she had no food inside the bus and her blood sugar was plummeting – leaving her at risk of coma and death.
Amal even sent videos to her family saying she loves them as she feared she could die. After an hour and a half, Amal said she was spotted by a crew member who alerted the driver to let her out of the bus.
The hospitality worker claims the driver was aggressive and accused her of being to blame for being locked in due to falling asleep. Amal formally complained to FlixBus on August 11 to request a refund and compensation for the emotional distress, but emails appear to show how she was refused as she had ‘completed her journey’.
Amal, from Richmond, South West London, said: “My family lives in Paris and I really missed them so I booked to see them. I was really excited. I am Type 1 Diabetic and I got a Starbucks drink but I didn’t think I needed food. We went inside the ferry and I was clearly asleep. The protocol is we go in, everyone gets counted, everybody has to leave and they lock the doors.
“You go inside, they do a headcount and everyone needs to leave. There’s a whole bunch of people leaving their cars and no one is allowed to stay at the deck. I woke up sweating, I heard my watch beep, which meant my sugar was low. I had a gel but needed something with carbs or sugar and I didn’t have that.
“I was panicking because I was scared, I thought if I die on this Felix bus it won’t be a good thing. I recorded videos for proof, sent videos to my family saying I love you. I was hyperventilating and I was full of sweat. I was panicking, crying, I genuinely thought I was going to die. I almost passed out, I fell on the floor. I saw someone, a staff member and I was banging on the FlixBus window and he looked very surprised.
“I could have easily stolen people’s things if I was a bad person, that puts everyone at risk. He said what I did was wrong, he asked where my driver is, I said they all left me. He went on the lift, went upstairs and came back with the driver. The driver said ‘why were you sleeping? Who told you to sleep? I told everyone to get off’.
“Coming across aggressively made the situation worse. The ferry guy said it’s no one’s fault. We went upstairs (where) everyone was just watching me crying and hyperventilating. He (the driver) was saying it’s my fault. They gave me hot water and tea. People were just staring, shocked, you could see I was full of sweat.
“It was horrible, when the guy was basically shouting at me saying it’s my fault for sleeping. I told him I was diabetic, I could have died, never in my life have I had to say goodbye to my family. It was that bad. I was on the bus for an hour and a half.”
While people online have commented on the video being funny, Amal claims she had every right to sleep on the bus and was not to blame. FlixBus can be seen commenting on Amal’s post and sent her a message on TikTok to apologise, but she thinks it is an ’empty’ apology.
“I emailed them and I was told I can’t receive a refund because I finished the whole journey. I’m not entitled to one,” Amal said. “She said ‘I’m sorry for what happened to you, I’ll talk to someone about it and keep you updated.’
“FlixBus decided to message me on TikTok to say sorry for what happened and I find it quite inappropriate. They could have called me back, they’ve seen my emails. It was an empty apology.
“I thought the video was funny but I found it weird when people are saying sleeping on a bus is weird. I have my right to sleep where I want. Was I doing anything inappropriate? I was sleeping on the bus I paid for.”
Some online commenters sympathised with Amal while others defended the driver and said it was not his fault. One commenter said: “This is crazy!!! So sorry this happened to you.”
Another said: “FlixBus drivers are rude and lazy girl, make a complaint and get your money back cause this ain’t right at all.”
But one said: “FlixBus is not your alarm clock.” A second commented: “This isn’t FlixBus’ problem, this is a you problem.” Another joked: “At least you stayed calm.”
A spokesperson from FlixBus said: “We regret that a passenger remained on board a service during a ferry crossing. The driver made the standard announcement to disembark, carried out a check of the vehicle before leaving, and apologised to the passenger after discovering she was still on board.
“We are working closely with our operating partner to ensure additional measures are in place to prevent this from happening again. We have been in contact with the passenger to apologise and provide a full refund.”
