Ryanair Under Fire as Passengers Stranded for Hours During Storm Ashley Face Denied Water and Refreshments
Thousands of passengers traveling with Ryanair faced lengthy delays and overnight disruptions amidst the severe weather conditions brought on by Storm Ashley this past weekend. While the airline cites safety concerns and the unprecedented nature of the storm as justifiable reasons for the disruptions, many passengers have taken to social media to express their anger and frustration over what they describe as inadequate care during their extended journeys.
Passengers stranded on flights for up to 15 hours claim they were denied even basic necessities like free water and refreshments, despite enduring arduous delays and difficult conditions. Some flights were diverted multiple times, leaving passengers grounded in unfamiliar airports for extended periods.
“We boarded in Faro at about 9am and disembarked the plane at 11.55pm in Dublin,” said Gerald Gallen, a passenger on the affected Faro to Dublin flight. “We made a couple of attempts at landing in Dublin before diverting to Manchester. On two more occasions the plane attempted to land in Dublin before ultimately being diverted to Birmingham where it – and the passengers – ”sat on runway for hours”.
Gallen continued, “At no stage in this 15-hour on-board experience did Ryanair offer or provide so much as a bottle of water to a passenger free of charge”.
Other passengers have corroborated Gallen’s account, relating tales of overcrowded planes with limited access to sanitation facilities and dwindling supplies. Some even reported individuals suffering panic attacks during the prolonged ordeal.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Gallen said, “They did manage to restock some items in Birmingham but I wonder how or why they did not at that stage arrive on the plane with 150 bottles of water for example, or think that they might need more than the extra 10 sandwiches they seemed to put their hands on. They managed to sell every box of Pringles they had and released the catering trolley at each opportunity.
He went on to describe requesting water and being asked to pay for it despite being delayed for nine hours. “I asked the member of staff was she charging me for water nine hours after we boarded a flight. She said yes, they had to charge and I stubbornly handed her back the bottle. I ended up buying one about 30 minutes later as I was too thirsty to let my pride get in the way!”
Ryanair has defended its actions, stating that passengers were provided with snacks and refreshments for sale and that they are not entitled to free food or drinks under these circumstances. They maintain that the delays and diversions were a direct result of Storm Ashley, a situation beyond their control.
They offered the following statement in response to queries: “Ryanair sincerely apologises to all passengers for these delays and diversions, which were caused by tropical Storm Ashley and our obligation to prioritise passenger and aircraft safety.
Referencing the Faro to Dublin flight that was diverted to the UK, they added: “passengers were provided with snacks and refreshments for sale from the in-flight bar service, Passengers were not entitled to free food or drinks on-board and nor are they entitled to ‘compensation’ when these delays and diversions were caused by a tropical storm, which was clearly beyond Ryanair’s control”.
They concluded by expressing gratitude to their “operations teams and our crews who worked long hours in extremely difficult circumstances during a tropical storm yesterday to get these passengers back to Dublin, rather than cancelling flights or having them stranded in UK airports”.
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