Ryanair holiday flight lands at wrong Greek airport
Passengers on a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Greece were left confused when the pilot landed at the wrong airport.
Instead of flying straight to the island of Kefalonia, the pilot touched down in Thessaloniki on the Greek mainland.
Those on board the holiday flight at first believed the plane had run out of fuel, but later they were told night-time landing restrictions at Kefalonia prevented the aircraft from landing there.
A spokesman for the airline issued the following statement: "Ryanair flight FR6611 on May 13 diverted to Thessaloniki due to runway restrictions which prevail over Ryanair night time flights into Kefalonia.
"The aircraft landed normally at Thessaloniki and repositioned to Kefalonia (2 hours later) once this restriction was cleared.
"Ryanair sincerely apologises to passengers affected by this two-hour delay. "
The airline did not say if the aircraft was delayed on take-off or if the pilot was aware the aircraft would be able to land at Kefalonia prior to leaving Stansted. The spokesman said the restriction was not to do with a lack of light, but rather restrictions on runway usage.
However, the airline said it had altered the scheduled timings of its Kefalonia flights "to ensure that this night time landing restriction will not recur".
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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