Ryanair passengers stranded overnight in Spanish airport
A technical fault grounded the plane in Tenerife, forcing many passengers to spend the night in the airport
Travellers on a Ryanair flight from Tenerife to Manchester last weekend were reportedly left to spend the night in the airport after the plane encountered a technical issue.
Scheduled to depart at 6.45pm on Saturday March 16, the flight was instead forced to return to Tenerife after briefly taking off and circling the island due to the technical problem. Passengers, including families with small children and elderly travellers, found themselves stuck on the Spanish island without accommodation.
According to one disgruntled Briton, passengers were disembarked at around 11.30pm and only informed then that they needed to arrange their own lodging and seek reimbursement later.
"Everything was normal until we boarded the plane," he said. "Then they detailed there was a minor fault that they were working on. We were sat on the plane for about 15 minutes before they told us we would be taking off.
"About 30 minutes in, we were told there had been another fault and that we were going to have to burn off some fuel before landing back in Tenerife again.
"We got outside and everybody was looking on booking.com. Fortunately there were six of us, and I was able to find a villa that we were able to book last minute."
But many other travellers weren't so lucky and several ended up spending the night at the airport.
"But there was an elderly couple in wheelchairs left there overnight. There was one man who said they had found a staircase to sleep on and that others were sleeping on benches. It was awful.
"Quite a few people unfortunately stayed in the airport. People had saved all their money for the trip and didn't have the money available to just book somewhere else. One woman with two young children had saved up for the holiday and couldn't afford to pay for a hotel and taxis there and back."
Sadly, the drama continued the following morning as the replacement flight was also delayed. Passengers eventually left for Manchester Airport at around 2pm the following day, Sunday March 17.
Image: Archive
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