Ryanair emergency landings prompt calls for tighter safety
Spain is pushing for tighter safety controls on foreign carriers after three Ryanair planes were last week were forced to make emergency landings.
Spanish transport official Rafael Catala said Spain had requested immediate talks with European transport commissioner Siim Kallas and the Irish civil aviation authorities to discuss the safety of the Irish carrier.
Ryanair is also under fire in Sweden after it allegedly cancelled a flight from Rijeka in Croatia to Stockholm, blaming high winds, but flew the aircraft empty two hours later. Passengers claim they were forced to find their own way home, having been abandoned by the airline.
A Ryanair flight from Bristol to Reus in Spain made an emergency landing in Barcelona on Saturday due to a problem with one of its engines, said Spanish authorities. On Sunday, a Ryanair flight from Paris to Tenerife was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Madrid due to what it described as "a small technical problem".
Last week, a Ryanair flight to Palma de Majorca also made an emergency landing due to turbulence. Two crew members and one passenger were reported slightly injured.
Ryanair, which operates more than 1,500 flights a day, dismissed the unplanned landings as isolated incidents and said they showed how seriously it took safety.
However, the airline is already under fire from Spanish authorities after its aircraft made three emergency landings in Valencia in July because they were running short of fuel. The aircraft were en route to Madrid but were diverted due to bad weather and forced to circle Valencia for about an hour, after which they requested permission to land immediately as they were reaching their reserve fuel supplies.
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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