Passengers on a Ryanair flight from Malta to Birmingham were left on a sweltering plane for nearly two hours, with some reportedly vomiting and passing out, after a delay on Monday.
Passengers left without air conditioning
Eva Gregory, 16, was travelling with her mother Angela and brother Samuel on flight 7268 when the scheduled 5.40pm departure was pushed back to 7.30pm. She said passengers were first kept on an apron bus without air conditioning for 30 minutes before being transferred to another vehicle.
Once onboard the aircraft, there was still no respite from the 31C heat. Eva said: 'We got on the plane but were sitting and waiting in the heat with no air conditioning at all for over an hour.'
Passengers distressed and ill
Eva described how passengers became agitated and frustrated, with some taking off their tops to cool down. She added: 'Two people passed out, although I’m not sure how many were throwing up.'
She said cabin crew did not offer free water, and that elderly passengers seemed 'extremely distressed' and could have experienced worse medical problems. She also said flight attendants' requests to ground personnel to stop boarding passengers while the air conditioning was broken were ignored.
Ryanair response
Ryanair said the flight was delayed due to a technical problem and further set back after a passenger became ill onboard. A spokesperson said: 'This flight from Malta to Birmingham (10 Aug) was delayed prior to departure due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft and subsequently became delayed after a passenger became ill onboard.'
The airline added that passengers were held on an air conditioned bus for 10 minutes and that cabin crew opened the onboard bars for drink purchases. The spokesperson said the aircraft was cleared to operate after an inspection by engineers, and the flight departed Malta at 19:00 local time.
