Ryanair has faced backlash after reportedly leaving 89 passengers behind at Lanzarote Airport due to congestion at border control. The flight FR4756 from César Manrique-Lanzarote to Bristol departed half empty on 25 February, according to Spanish newspaper La Voz de Lanzarote.
Delays occurred as passengers from outside the Schengen Area queued to have their passports stamped. Ryanair staff reportedly removed suitcases from the aircraft over nearly an hour before departing, leaving around 89 passengers stranded. The plane left the Canary Islands at 3.15pm and arrived in the UK 52 minutes late.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Due to passport control delays at Lanzarote Airport (February 25), a number of passengers missed this flight from Lanzarote to Bristol. Should these passengers have presented at the boarding gate desk before it closed, they would have boarded this flight alongside the 90 passengers who did present at the gate on time.”
It is unclear what happened to the stranded travellers or if they stayed overnight. When boarding closes, a legal manifest is signed and sent to the captain, meaning it cannot be reopened. Passengers who miss a flight are offered a £100 missed departure fee to be rebooked.
This incident follows a similar event in February 2024, when the simultaneous arrival of 17 non-EU flights overwhelmed the airport. José Valle, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, warned that the upcoming EES Entry Exit System could cause “serious collapses”.
