A routine three-hour Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Albania descended into a chaotic 12-hour ordeal featuring mid-air 'mutiny,' a wrestling air hostess, and a double diversion through a raging storm. Flight RK8288 to Tirana quickly turned into mayhem as rowdy festival-goers and stag groups boarded clutching duty-free alcohol.
Double Diversions and Passenger Fury
A massive thunderstorm forced the aircraft into a nightmarish game of continental hopscotch, diverting first to Italy and then to Greece. By the time the plane finally arrived in Tirana at 5am local time - nine hours behind schedule - supplies had completely run out, local police had been called to intervene, and furious Brits were revolting against the crew.
The trouble escalated four hours into the flight when passengers expecting to land in Tirana suddenly realised they were descending into Brindisi, Italy. One anonymous traveller told the Daily Mail: 'About ten minutes before landing, the pilot said: "By the way, we couldn't land in Albania, we're now in Brindisi in Italy." We were like: "Oh, that's not where we wanted to go." We stayed there for two, maybe three hours on the tarmac. People were getting pretty upset and annoyed.'
Food and Drink Shortages
Tempers flared as the cabin crew allegedly stopped serving refreshments. The passenger claimed: 'They didn't give anything out for free, and you couldn't even buy anything. People were understandably thirsty and hungry.' Once the crew reopened sales, stocks vanished almost instantly until only Ribena and crisps remained. The anonymous passenger noted that throughout the entire saga, they only shared a single tub of Pringles with a friend, adding: 'I think that was basically the only thing that was available.'
Second Diversion and Cabin Chaos
When the flight took off again, a second thunderstorm forced yet another diversion - this time to Thessaloniki, Greece. At this point, the cabin exploded into fury. The passenger said: 'Everyone is losing their mind... People are shouting into the pilot deck, calling him a coward, and telling him to get out and face them like a man.' A dozen furious holidaymakers demanded to be let off the aircraft immediately, telling the captain: 'There's no way you can keep us here.' Greek police were called on board and instructed the crew to allow the desperate passengers to disembark.
Physical Altercation and Bizarre Incidents
The severe delays and booze-fuelled atmosphere created a recipe for cabin chaos. At one point, a passenger described as 'clearly hammered' began roaming the aisles, ignoring safety commands. An air hostess was forced to take physical action to restore order. The witness said: 'She literally grabs him, picks him up like a child, and pushes him back down to his seat...it was mental.' In another bizarre incident just before a take-off attempt, a shirtless passenger vomited on himself before running to the toilet, cheered and booed by the exhausted cabin.
Arrival and Compensation Rejection
When the plane finally touched down in Tirana at dawn, the pilot announced: 'Welcome to Albania,' prompting relieved cheers from the battered survivors. 'We were so dead, so exhausted,' the passenger said. The nightmare didn't end on the tarmac. The anonymous passenger revealed that compensation claims were instantly shot down by Ryanair's automated systems. They said: 'It was an automatic rejection as soon as I put my flight number in. I got an automated email being like: "Your claim's been rejected."' The case has now been escalated to AviationADR.
Ryanair's Response
Ryanair strongly defended its handling of the crisis, citing severe weather for the dual diversions. A spokesperson said: 'This flight from London Stansted to Tirana was diverted to Brindisi due to adverse weather conditions at Tirana Airport, however subsequently diverted to Thessaloniki Airport due to a thunderstorm. After 45 minutes, crew opened the bars on board so that passengers could access snacks and refreshments. Passengers booked on this flight received communications via email, SMS and PUSH notifications. Once weather conditions improved, this flight departed for Tirana at 4.44am local time.'
