Ryanair passengers furious over grounded flight
By Dan Collins
Friday, June 25, 2010
AIRPORT police had to control an angry crowd of disappointed holiday-makers when their Ryanair flight from Cork to Alicante in Spain was grounded without warning last evening because of the French air traffic controllers’ strike.
"There are kids crying, there are adults crying and the airport security guards have just escorted one man from the terminal building," said Dawn Aston.
"They escorted him away because he told the rest of us to ‘stay where you are’, or we would get no satisfaction from the airline.
"I have never seen so many angry people in one place, people are distraught."
Ms Aston, along with her husband, two children and 19-year old niece realised they were being left high and dry when they went to check in at the desk.
It was at that point, "not long after our plane that was supposed to take us out landed in Cork", intending passengers were told the 9.05pm flight to the sun was cancelled, she said. A crowd of more than 100 people, including approximately 30 young children, descended on the departures desk seeking an explanation and intending passengers refused to leave the departures area demanding that alternative arrangements be made for them.
Ms Aston, a resident of Rochestown, Co Cork, accused the airline of "offering no help and no satisfaction. The only advice given to me was to re-book a flight online".
This was the holiday "we had been looking forward to so much", she said.
"I found the security presence here very intimidating. But the biggest grievance people had was that there was nobody to communicate with – ‘it’s cancelled, that’s all, good bye.’"
Another intending passenger, 19 year old Molly Lynch said suggestions from the Ryanair desk that people re-book a flight to Spain did nothing to quell the fury of those affected. "People had booked their accommodation and other things to correspond with this flight and now they can’t go anywhere.
"This is terrible, there are families here with small children and they don’t know what to do. They are just left stranded," she said.
Last night, a spokesperson for the budget airline said: "Ryanair sincerely apologises to all affected passengers for the cancellation caused by French air traffic controllers’ strike action."
The cancellation was "outside our control," the spokesperson added.
(Irish Examiner)
By Dan Collins
Friday, June 25, 2010
AIRPORT police had to control an angry crowd of disappointed holiday-makers when their Ryanair flight from Cork to Alicante in Spain was grounded without warning last evening because of the French air traffic controllers’ strike.
"There are kids crying, there are adults crying and the airport security guards have just escorted one man from the terminal building," said Dawn Aston.
"They escorted him away because he told the rest of us to ‘stay where you are’, or we would get no satisfaction from the airline.
"I have never seen so many angry people in one place, people are distraught."
Ms Aston, along with her husband, two children and 19-year old niece realised they were being left high and dry when they went to check in at the desk.
It was at that point, "not long after our plane that was supposed to take us out landed in Cork", intending passengers were told the 9.05pm flight to the sun was cancelled, she said. A crowd of more than 100 people, including approximately 30 young children, descended on the departures desk seeking an explanation and intending passengers refused to leave the departures area demanding that alternative arrangements be made for them.
Ms Aston, a resident of Rochestown, Co Cork, accused the airline of "offering no help and no satisfaction. The only advice given to me was to re-book a flight online".
This was the holiday "we had been looking forward to so much", she said.
"I found the security presence here very intimidating. But the biggest grievance people had was that there was nobody to communicate with – ‘it’s cancelled, that’s all, good bye.’"
Another intending passenger, 19 year old Molly Lynch said suggestions from the Ryanair desk that people re-book a flight to Spain did nothing to quell the fury of those affected. "People had booked their accommodation and other things to correspond with this flight and now they can’t go anywhere.
"This is terrible, there are families here with small children and they don’t know what to do. They are just left stranded," she said.
Last night, a spokesperson for the budget airline said: "Ryanair sincerely apologises to all affected passengers for the cancellation caused by French air traffic controllers’ strike action."
The cancellation was "outside our control," the spokesperson added.
(Irish Examiner)
