Passengers on a Ryanair flight from Krakow to Liverpool were left stranded for 15 hours and received a compensation voucher worth just £3.38, which wouldn't even cover a coffee at the airport.
Delayed flight leaves 150 passengers waiting
Around 150 passengers were stuck at the gates of Krakow Airport after the FR6359 service to Liverpool John Lennon Airport was delayed all day. The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:55am on Monday, August 3, but according to Flight Radar 24, it eventually took off at 12:40am on Tuesday, August 4.
The two-hour flight finally landed in Liverpool at 2am, 15 hours and 20 minutes behind schedule. Ryanair attributed the delay to "a minor technical issue with the aircraft earlier today" and said a replacement aircraft had been arranged.
Passengers express frustration
Marcin Tkaczyk, 47, from Lancaster, was among those waiting. He described the situation: "We're waiting next to the gate. We could leave, but then we'd have to go through the whole procedure again, and there is nothing around the airport so there's really no point."
He added: "People are upset. There's no one in person here to explain things to us. We were supposed to arrive in Liverpool at 10.40am [on Monday]. Now we don't know. If we do depart at 12:30am, it should be 3am [on Tuesday]."
Voucher falls short of coffee price
Passengers received a message saying: "Since your flight has been delayed, please enjoy a snack or beverage on us by presenting your boarding pass to the cashier at participating outlets. We have issued one 17.00 PLN (Polish zloty) voucher per boarding pass in your booking."
17 Polish zloty is equivalent to £3.38, based on Tuesday's exchange rates. However, a coffee at the airport costs 21.00 PLN, making the voucher insufficient even for that.
Tkaczyk, who was on a weekend city break, said: "There's no one here we can talk to. We're just waiting and waiting. I'm guessing there's about 150 of us, almost a full plane. The last we heard from Ryanair was about four or five hours ago. I'm fed up and upset. Fortunately we haven't got children with us, but there are a few kids here managing with phones, smartphones and Nintendos."
Ryanair has been approached for comment by the Liverpool Echo.
