Staff Reporter
A BRITISH couple were stuck in Mallorca for THREE days after their Ryanair flight was cancelled and rerouted due to a French air strike.
The parents of two young children were forced to fly home via Madrid, Lanzarote and Newcastle to get home.
Samantha Breen, 30, and Alexander Rutherford, 43, were due to fly home from Palma after a five-day break for Samantha’s birthday.
But after waiting six hours at Palma Airport, they were told to catch a flight three days later, which went via the three airports.
“We were totally fobbed off by Ryanair. I will never fly with them again,” said Samantha.
During the hellish trip, the couple were forced to sleep on a bench outside Lanzarote airport while waiting for the Newcastle plane.
Samantha said the couple’s children, aged three and five, were crying on the phone that they missed their parents when they rang home.
“We were totally stuck with no money and no help from Ryanair,” added Samantha.
“We only had about 11 Euros between us. My partner had to go and buy us some Pot Noodles just to keep us going. We had no one to contact from Ryanair.”
She added that Ryanair said they would receive no compensation as the delays were caused by an air-traffic control strike.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “The customers were provided with accommodation in Palma and were rerouted back to Newcastle (via Madrid and Lanzarote).
‘The customers were advised to keep and submit expenses and a cheque of €124.17 has been authorised. We apologise sincerely for this flight cancellation.”
