Passengers aboard a Ryanair flight from Barcelona to Edinburgh have described being left to sleep on the airport floor after their journey was delayed by more than a day. The aircraft was grounded due to a technical issue, with travellers eventually landing in Edinburgh at around midnight on Tuesday.
Among those affected was Cole Farrell, who said the experience was 'awful' and that she would never fly with the airline again. She claimed that staff appeared uninformed, airport security told passengers they were not allowed to sleep, and there were insufficient hotel rooms. 'There was nowhere to eat or drink for hours as everywhere was closed. The airport was freezing,' she said.
Scott Coyle from Glasgow said he and others spent roughly 30 hours in the airport, sleeping on cold tiles with air conditioning blasting. He said there was no offer of food, water, pillows or blankets, and that police repeatedly told them to find seats. Silvia Barone, a customer services advisor from Edinburgh, said she had to call her boss to explain she would miss work, and later ended up sharing a hotel room with a stranger after delays were extended further.
The plane was initially delayed until 21:00, then put back to 04:00, and later to midday, before passengers were told a part was being flown in from Rome. The flight eventually departed at 22:00, arriving in Edinburgh after midnight. Ms Barone said she submitted a complaint to Ryanair but received a reply stating the airline had no record of her on the flight.
A Ryanair spokesman said the delay was caused by a 'minor technical issue' and that passengers were kept updated via SMS, email and push notifications. They said anyone who chose to wait was offered overnight accommodation and transport to and from the airport, and apologised for the 'unavoidable delay'.
