Revolting Ryanair passengers ‘plundered fags and booze’
Ryanair passengers allegedly staged an onboard revolt, stealing alcohol, cigarettes and perfume and abusing staff, after their flight to Paris was diverted twice.
The flight, from Rabat in Morocco, was initially diverted to Madrid when a passenger became ill, and by the time it took off again Beauvais airport in Paris was closed for the night so it was forced to land in Nantes.
When passengers were told they would have to spend the night in Nantes, some of the 170 onboard allegedly looted the aircraft for food, drink and duty-free items including alcohol, cigarettes and perfume, according to the French newspaper Metronews.
The paper said the police were called and, after a few hours in a hotel in Nantes, the passengers were put on coaches to Paris early the following morning.
A member of the cabin crew allegedly told Metronews the passengers behaved "like animals".
However, Ryanair played down the incident, insisting there was no mutiny. The airline said passengers were provided with overnight accommodation and bussed to Paris the following morning.
"Ryanair apologised sincerely to all passengers affected by this delay."
Meanwhile, the airline says its customer loyalty rating has jumped since it improved its service with a package of measures including an easier to use website, a 24-hour grace period for minor changes to booking errors and a second carry-on bag.
It said its latest survey of over 10,000 passengers revealed 97% would fly Ryanair again, up from 93% last March, and 88% said they would recommend the airline to a friend, which was 4% more than last year.
On February 1, Ryanair will introduce allocated seats on all flights.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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