Gerry Harrington, 62, went to sit in row 35 of his flight to find it wasn’t actually there (Picture: Deadline News)

Passengers were left baffled when they couldn’t sit down on their Ryanair seats – not because someone else had pinched them, but because they didn’t actually exist.

Gerry Harrington, 62, had booked onto row 35 of his flight from Stansted Airport to Dublin on October 21.

But when he and around eight others boarded the plane, they found themselves stranded at the back with nowhere to sit when they discovered the rows ended at 33.

Gerry said: ‘We were heading to Dublin to play in a Subbuteo tournament but when we got on the plane, we were looking for our row which wasn’t there.

‘It happened to a few people and suddenly we were all standing at the back of the plane with no seats and everyone wondering what might happen.

“Everyone was showing their boarding passes and it was clear there had been a mistake somewhere.

‘We were told by Ryanair that if we got off we could have £250 each and that they would put us up that evening and get us a flight in the morning but we would’ve missed the tournament.

‘People on that plane were needing to get home and we weren’t so we did get off of the plane.’

Gerry and around eight others were left stranded at the back of the plane (Picture: Deadline News)

A staff member tried to get help to resolve the issue (Picture: Deadline News)

They all had to get off the plane in the end and were given £250 each (Picture: Deadline News)

Gerry, from Haverhill in Suffolk, posted a video online of himself and the people crammed into a space at the back of the plane.

Footage shows a staff member in a hi-vis vest radioing for assistance to solve the problem.

Gerry is then heard saying: ‘Everyone here has paid for seats, paid for seats, paid for seats.

‘We’re stuck at the back of the plane as they have overbooked, no they’ve sent a smaller plane.’

Gerry posted the footage on Facebook with the caption: ‘Enjoy people. Stansted Airport Friday, October 21.

‘They sent a plane too small to take all the passengers.’

The stuck passengers were later offered £250 each and a hotel for the night until the next available flight in the morning.

A Ryanair spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Due to an aircraft change, a very small number of passengers on this flight from London Stansted to Dublin (21 October) were moved to alternative flights the following day.

‘Affected passengers were provided with overnight accommodation and will receive compensation. Ryanair sincerely apologises to these passengers for any inconvenience caused.’

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Gerry Harrington, 62, went to sit in row 35 of his flight to find it wasn’t actually there.