Ryanair passengers recount ‘dehumanising’ experiences amid gathering storm clouds

When skies are clear it is easy to forget how complex the business of air travel is, but when storm clouds gather and things start going wrong it can quickly fall to pieces.

Last month Storm Isha left many thousands of people’s travel plans in disarray and forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights. While the circumstances were undoubtedly extreme and beyond the control of all airlines, the experience of passengers was not uniform and some people had a very, very hard time over 24 hours.

We heard from two Ryanair passengers who were trying to travel to Dublin.

We had no idea we were walking into one of the most ludicrous, inhuman, and terrifying aviation days of our lives

—  Nico

The first query is from a passenger called Nico who booked a Ryanair flight from Birmingham to Dublin. She arrived in plenty of time for a 10:30am flight on the Sunday of the storm.

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“We had no idea we were walking into one of the most ludicrous, inhuman, and terrifying aviation days of our lives,” she says.

The plane took off just after schedule but shortly before it was due to land things were awry. It circled over Dublin for a spell before the captain “tried a terrifying landing. The plane was being tossed about in the high winds and none of the seats had any vomit bags. At the last moment, as we were coming into the runway, he had to abort and began a terrifying ascent.”

The plane was diverted to Manchester but that is not where Nico’s story ends.

“We sat on the runway without any real information, nor any offer of refreshments, though it was now 2½ hours after take-off for a supposed 45-minute flight. Finally, with enough complaints, the staff relented and said that drinks and snacks were free. So all able-bodied passengers at the front and the back of the plane helped themselves until there was nothing left. All senior travellers, mothers with children and other passengers had to fend for themselves,” says Nico.

As time passed, it became clear there would be no returning to Dublin on the day with live weather reports confirming the storm was closing in and all planes were being diverted or cancelled.

“Still Ryanair persisted in pretending they were going to fly and then the captain announced he was going to try again,” says Nico. “We were now well into the afternoon — having had no respite, choice to get off the plane or very importantly a contingency plan. At this point, the head steward told us that nobody without a British passport would be allowed off the plane. We were by all accounts now Ryanair hostages, terrified that the captain would actually take us into the storm, watching all the poor other passengers desperately circling airports trying to land.”

She says that at 5pm “a lovely group of ladies from Birmingham — all with British passports — demanded that they wanted to get off the plane. We were repeatedly, threateningly told we would all lose any compensation, despite being long past the threshold of time. We were repeatedly told if we did leave the plane, they would not get us home,” says Nico.

She adds: “I cannot really put into words how dehumanising this is.”

Our plane from Nice to Dublin scheduled to arrive at 5:40pm was diverted to Birmingham on Sunday evening. Passengers were only allowed to disembark after waiting on the tarmac for hours

Eventually, they were let off the plane and were brought home the following day.

Then there was Claire. “Our plane from Nice to Dublin scheduled to arrive at 5:40pm was diverted to Birmingham on Sunday evening. Passengers were only allowed to disembark after waiting on the tarmac for hours,” she says.

“The flight back to Dublin was cancelled at that point and we were told we could get information and help with accommodation at a desk inside Birmingham Airport. By then it was 10:30pm and there was no desk, no Ryanair rep and no help available. A small number of people tried nearby hotels but these were all booked out until some rooms became available at midnight because of no-shows.”

Claire says that about 100 other passengers waited in the airport “because there was a rumour that Ryanair were sending a bus to bring us to a hotel. This didn’t happen and we spent the night on the few available seats or on the floor. Ages ranged from a babe in arms to some people in their 80s and Ryanair clearly didn’t provide our passenger group with any care and assistance.”

At 2am they were told they would be accommodated on a flight later that day and they were.

“Have we any comeback? We can’t make a claim for expenses as we don’t have receipts for food or accommodation because we couldn’t get a meal, or a room, but the most frustrating aspect of it all was the lack of information throughout,” she says.

Now, obviously, there are two sides to every story so we went to Ryanair to get its version of events.

Its response was robust, to say the least.

“You refer to passengers from two (out of 47) flights which were unable to land at Dublin Airport on Sunday, January 21st, due to the unsafe weather conditions caused by Storm Isha,” notes a statement. “Despite the sensationalist version of events outlined in your email, you will find that Ryanair did provide [a] duty of care to both [Nico and Claire] as best we could, given the extraordinary circumstances being faced by all airlines operating to/from Ireland and the UK on Sunday, January 21st.

Red lines advising passengers of the potential disruption to/from UK and Irish airports on January 21st due to Storm Isha were clearly displayed on both the Ryanair app and website

—  Ryanair

The Ryanair statement then outlines the “facts” as it puts it.

It denied that there was an absence of information about Nico’s flight and says that “red lines advising passengers of the potential disruption to/from UK and Irish airports on January 21st due to Storm Isha were clearly displayed on both the Ryanair app and website, and passengers on this flight from Birmingham to Dublin were notified of the diversion and subsequently updated by the crew onboard and email/SMS/Push notifications.”

It says the aircraft did not circle around Dublin Airport for 90 minutes as our correspondent suggests. “The flight departed Birmingham at 10.29, attempted to land at Dublin at 11.40 and diverted back to Manchester landing at 12.35.”

It refutes the suggestion that the passengers were “hostages” and says that “due to the high volume of diversions/passengers that would have to be screened for eligibility to enter the UK, [the] UK Border Force instructed that passengers remain onboard upon arrival at Manchester Airport.”

The statement goes on to say that bars “were opened onboard to provide passengers with snacks and refreshments while we tried to position the aircraft back to Dublin. However, crew reached their permitted hours, and this flight was delayed overnight. A replacement flight to Dublin was arranged for the following morning (January 22nd) which departed from Manchester at 07.43. All passengers were offered overnight accommodation and any passengers who arranged individual accommodation can expense this back on ryanair.com.”

The Ryanair statement maintains that ‘all passengers were offered overnight accommodation and any passengers who arranged individual accommodation can expense this back on ryanair.com’

When it comes to Claire, Ryanair said that passengers remained on board the plane for 3½ hours “while we tried to position the aircraft back to Dublin, however, crew reached their permitted hours, and this flight was delayed overnight. Passengers disembarked at 22.44 and were advised to go to the customer service desk at Birmingham Airport where there were three staff on the desk and further staff on the floor available to assist passengers. A replacement flight to Dublin was arranged for the following morning, which departed from Birmingham at 10.00.

The Ryanair statement maintains that “all passengers were offered overnight accommodation and any passengers who arranged individual accommodation can expense this back on ryanair.com. If [Claire] chose to remain at Birmingham Airport due to a ‘rumour’ that was her own choice. As [Claire] did not pay for a meal or overnight accommodation, she cannot expense for either. We sincerely apologise to all passengers affected by these weather-related disruptions as a result of Storm Isha, which were entirely beyond our control and impacted all airlines operating to/from Ireland and the UK.

If you have a query or a complaint about a company or service or feel you have been let down or mistreated and would like us to look into it please mail pricewatch@irishtimes.com