Tom Ewart Smith
BRITISH tourists aboard a Ryanair flight were reportedly left stranded in Bilbao airport after workers went home.
On Saturday evening, Ryanair flight RK3209 from Malaga to Manchester was diverted to Bilbao after a passenger became ill.
This situation isn’t uncommon, and the plane would usually land at the airport, offload the passenger to medical staff, and then continue its journey.
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However, this time, medics took the passenger to a nearby hospital, but the plane remained on the ground.
The flight plan had exceeded operational hours, and so Bilbao air-traffic controllers went home instead of waiting an extra 15 minutes for the diverted aircraft to jet off.
“They went home so we were unloaded, left high and dry to make our own arrangements for hotels,” said Sarah Diggle, one of the affected passengers, who spoke with The Independent.
The pilots and cabin crew also had to follow strict rules, meaning the flight couldn’t take off until they had properly rested.
As a result, the Ryanair customers arrived in Manchester 14 hours behind schedule, after the plane took off at 1pm on Sunday.
When the aircraft was diverted, passengers were left without accommodation and there were no taxis for them outside the airport.
Diggle took the matter into her own hands and walked to the nearest airport hotel for the overnight stop.
According to her, some passengers didn’t even receive a text to advise them what time the flight would leave Bilbao.
Fortunately, Diggle received one, and she said the cabin crew ‘were very empathetic,’ and she noted it wasn’t their fault.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “Passengers were notified of the diversion and advised of their options. Despite Ryanair’s efforts to arrange accommodation for passengers, availability was limited, and passengers were advised that they could arrange individual accommodation that they could claim back receipted expenses on Ryanair.com.”
