Get you up to speed: Ryanair passengers ‘vomit’ and ‘pass out’ after being left on sweltering plane | News World
Passengers on Ryanair flight 7268 from Malta to Birmingham were trapped onboard for nearly two hours in 31C heat, resulting in several becoming ill. The situation unfolded on Monday, with cabin crew reportedly not providing water as some passengers passed out and others removed their clothing to cool down.
Ryanair confirmed that the flight from Malta to Birmingham was initially delayed due to a minor technical issue, which was compounded by a passenger’s illness. Passengers reported being held on an apron bus for 30 minutes before boarding, contradicting the airline’s account of a 10-minute wait on an air-conditioned vehicle.
Ryanair stated that the flight’s initial delay was due to a technical issue, compounded by a passenger falling ill, claiming that passengers were held on an air-conditioned bus for 10 minutes and that cabin crew opened the onboard bars for purchasing drinks. Following the incident, the airline is expected to review procedures to address passenger care during delays, though no formal warnings or penalties have been disclosed at this time.
What remains unclear — The exact number of passengers who fell ill or passed out during the delay is not specified.
Passengers fall ill on Ryanair flight from Malta to Birmingham after heat delay
Passengers reportedly stripped their tops after being trapped onboard for nearly two hours during a delay in the sweltering heat.
Eva Gregory, 16, among travellers kept waiting onboard Ryanair flight 7268 from Malta to Birmingham.
The teenager was travelling with her mother Angela and brother Samuel when she became nauseous as the flight’s 5.40pm departure time was pushed back to 7.30pm on Monday.
Travellers already reported having been crammed onto an apron bus without air conditioning to get to the aircraft parked on a remote stand.
According to Eva, the planeload of passengers was kept waiting on the bus for 30 minutes before being transferred to another vehicle.
Once they finally boarded the aircraft, there was still no respite from the searing 31C heat, as travellers began to feel sick and even took off their tops in a desperate bid to cool down.
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‘We got on the plane but were sitting and waiting in the heat with no air conditioning at all for over an hour’, Eva recalled.
Passengers became ill while waiting nearly two hours onboard a Ryanair flight from Malta to Birmingham (Picture: Jam Press)
‘All the passengers were extremely agitated and quite quickly became frustrated.
‘People were taking their tops off because of the heat.’
Cabin crew did not offer passengers free water even as some passengers reportedly passed out on the plane.
Eva added: ‘Two people passed out, although I’m not sure how many were throwing up.
‘I was experiencing the feeling of needing to throw up, but as I have a phobia of being sick, it gave me a panic attack.
‘The elderly people seemed extremely distressed and could potentially have experienced worse medical problems.’
She said that while flight attendants had attempted to tell ground personnel not to continue to board passengers while the air conditioning wasn’t working, their requests went ignored.
The planeload of people had been stuck on an apron bus for up to half an hour before being allowed to board the sweltering aircraft (Picture: Jam Press)
Ryanair said the flight had been initially delayed due to a technical problem on the aircraft and was further set back after a passenger became ill onboard.
It added that passengers were held on an air conditioned bus for 10 minutes and that cabin crew had opened the onboard bars for people to purchase drinks on the ground.
A spokesperson for the Irish airline 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.
‘Following an inspection of the aircraft by engineers, the aircraft was cleared to operate, and this flight departed Malta at 19:00pm local.’
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