Calling the situation “shambolic,” Furious Ryanair passengers voiced their anger on Friday after their flight to Portugal landed in Spain instead and they were forced to take busses and taxis to their original destination. The reason? A French Air Traffic Control strike.
On Friday, Ryanair passengers destined for Faro, Portugal were surprised when they deplaned and found themselves in an entirely different country. After delays leaving the Dublin Airport, the flight apparently missed its curfew for landing in Faro and was forced to divert to the Malaga Airport in Spain.
In a statement given to Dublin Live, a Ryanair spokesperson said the disruption was due to an ongoing strike by the French Air Traffic Control which has resulted in travel chaos across Europe.
“This flight from Dublin to Faro (16 Sept) diverted to Malaga having missed Faro Airport’s curfew due to disruption from the French Air Traffic Control (ATC) strike, which was entirely beyond our control and impacted all airlines flying to/from/over France that day. o minimise disruption to passengers, Ryanair quickly arranged for a coach to transport passengers from Malaga Airport to their final destination. Ryanair sincerely apologises to passengers for the inconvenience caused as a result of this unjustified French ATC strike,” said the Ryanair spokesperson.
Got on a @Ryanair flight to Faro and I'm in Malaga lads, you couldn't make this up 😂ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
— Barry Masterson (@BarryMasterson) September 17, 2022
According to Dublin Live, many passengers didn’t even know they were not in Faro and were furious when they found out.
Flew to Malaga. Some passengers bussesd to Faro. Read some had to make their own way.
— Mary🇮🇪ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆðŸ¦‹ (@MaliMine) September 18, 2022
One person took to Twitter to note, “My girlfriend was on your flight as well. She and her friends ended up sharing a taxi with another woman down to Faro. Absolutely shambolic.”
Ryanair arranged busses to take passengers to Faro – a five-hour journey – while some chose to take a taxi instead.
We're on a 5 hour bus to Portugal now and we've stopped for petrol and pee stops within 5 minutes.
— Barry Masterson (@BarryMasterson) September 17, 2022
I'm never getting out of here. 1 bus for 157 people, good luck to everyone we left behind 🥲 pic.twitter.com/p8W3TMpti9
The French Air Traffic Control strike lasted three days and caused chaos to ripple across Europe resulting in hundreds of flights being canceled.
