Brits experience 24-hour delay ‘chaos’ after Ryanair plane diverts to Tenerife

Return flight to the UK kept getting pushed back while some passengers ended up in the wrong city

Passengers who were stuck abroad for 24 hours after their plane was forced to return to the airport have branded their experience as “chaos”.

Holidaymakers departed Tenerife for Manchester on Saturday night (16 December) but only stayed in the air for 30 minutes before they were diverted back to the Canary Island and told they would have to fly at 8am the following morning.

Ryanair has apologised for the unexpected landing, telling The Independent that the aircraft suffered a “minor technical issue”.

Despite expecting an early flight back to the UK, on Sunday the travellers were told that they would not be flying until 1pm, a departure time that was then pushed back to 4pm and then 7pm.

Michelle Hamilton, one of the affected passengers, told Manchester Evening News that people were “upset and angry” as they were kept waiting while “no information” was shared, adding that it was “chaos”.

“In all fairness they got us back to Tenerife rapidly – but from then it was shocking. There are so many people here, including a young couple with a 10-month-old baby on special milk and they are running out.

“It’s so poor, we have been in the airport all day. I am young and fit enough to manage but people have no money and have been left all day from morning until now.”

When a journey back to the UK was finally arranged, some of those stuck on the Spanish island were told they would be flown to Liverpool and then have to take a coach to Manchester, a journey which can take an hour.

A spokesman for Ryanair said that after they returned to the airport at Tenerife and passengers disembarked, the aircraft was inspected by engineers and “it was determined that more time was needed to assess the aircraft and subsequently, this flight was delayed overnight”.

“Passengers were notified of a new estimated departure time via SMS and provided with overnight accommodation with transport to/from Tenerife Airport.

“As engineers continued to service the aircraft the following day (17 December), the departure time was subsequently pushed throughout the day. To minimise disruption to passengers, a decision was made not to further delay the flight, and passengers were rerouted on the next available flights to Manchester/Liverpool that same day. Passengers who rerouted to Liverpool were provided with transport from Liverpool to Manchester upon landing.

“Ryanair sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused by this delay, which was entirely beyond Ryanair’s control.”