Ryanair strands passengers on wrong Canary Island
21.02.10
Budget airline Ryanair left passengers stranded on the ‘wrong’ Canary Island after their flight to Lanzarote hit thunderstorms. The passengers also said staff did not help them to find a hotel after their diversion to Fuerteventura, or to get to their intended destination.
Kay Wright, 40, of Poole, Dorset, told several newspapers that she called home for help before spending £400 on rooms for her party of five - including three young children. Ryanair apologised for the disruption. It said that it had arranged free ferry transfers to Lanzarote and that it had told passengers that hotel refunds were available.
Miss Wright's boyfriend, Tony Wainwright, 48, told Bournemouth's Daily Echo: ‘I don't blame Ryanair for the bad weather but to abandon a family, on the wrong island, is unforgivable. I know Ryanair is a budget airline but surely they have some duty of care to their passengers.’
Stephen McNamara, Ryanair head of communications, said: ‘Passengers were provided with EU261 (a European passenger rights regulation) information that outlines their entitlement to provide receipted hotel expenses to Ryanair, for refund. We arranged that the ferry company would carry affected Ryanair passengers to Lanzarote free of charge when ferries recommenced the following morning.’
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