EXCLUSIVE: Ryanair customer, 23, reveals she had to spend TWO nights sleeping on a Tenerife airport floor after her flight back to the UK was delayed by 36 hours
- Piyusha Hirani has hit out at budget airline Ryanair at their lack of customer care
- She and her sisters spent two nights sleeping on an airport terminal floor
- Her flight home to the UK from Tenerife on Saturday was delayed by 36 hours
A holidaymaker has told how she had to spend two nights sleeping on an airport terminal floor after her flight back to the UK was delayed over 36 hours.
Piyusha Hirani, 23, has hit out at budget airline Ryanair at their lack of customer care and said she finally arrived back in the UK ‘totally exhausted and stressed’ after her nightmare end to a week’s holiday to Tenerife with her two sisters.
The trio should have arrived back at Stanstead around midnight last Saturday but did not arrive until 10am on Monday – a delay of 37 hours.
Admin worker Piyusha said: ‘I just cannot believe the way we were treated. The airline came up with so many excuses from strikes to bad weather to a flat tyre.
‘It wasn’t just us, but over 100 people who were treated in the most disgusting way. I will never fly with them again.’
Piyusha Hirani has hit out at budget airline Ryanair at their lack of customer care and said airline staff threatened them with arrest if they dared complain about the lengthy delay
The sisters had spent a relaxing week in Tenerife and were due to fly home at 8pm on Saturday.
Having checked their luggage and pass-through immigration control they waited in the departure lounge for their flight FR8157 from Reina Sofia airport to be called.
‘The terminal was already packed and there were not enough seats so most people had to sit on the floor. No one from Ryanair was at the gate and so we just sat and waited, said Piyusha.
‘About 12.30am two women turned up and they would not say anything, so we just sat there. We were then put on a coach and taken out to the plane, but not allowed to get off.
‘They then announced there would be no more flights that night and told us the delay was because of a strike by some other crew in Italy.
‘We were also told that the delay was caused by air traffic control back at Stanstead. They had so many different excuses.’
After collecting their luggage airline staff said they could stay overnight at a hotel but would have to pay and claim back the money as well as the £140 round trip taxi fare.
‘All the hotels were about an hour from the airport. We were just told to get a taxi and drive around until we found a room,’ said Piyusa, from East Ham, East London.
A holidaymaker has told how she had to spend two nights sleeping on an airport terminal floor after her flight back to the UK was delayed over 36 hours
‘By this time, it was 3am and we did not know what time the flight would depart the next morning so did not want to take the risk. One passenger who complained was told to ‘shut up’ and the police were called.
‘My sisters and I decided to stay at the airport as did many others. They did not give out any blankets and we had to sleep on the cold tile floor. It was miserable, but by this time we were all so exhausted.’
The following morning they were told the flight would depart at 10.10am but an electronic message board flashed up a 90 minute delay.
At 1pm they were put on a bus to take them out to the Boeing 737 jet – but instead of getting onboard stood on the bus in the sweltering heat for almost an hour.
‘There was no air conditioning on the bus and everyone was just so hot. There were young children there and people were getting very angry. People were shouting but they would not let us leave.’
After being returned to the terminal police were called to keep control of the angry passengers who were informed later that night that the flight had been cancelled.
Piyusha and her sisters Chetana, 30, and Nemisha, 26, spent another night on the terminal floor.
The flight eventually left at 10.10am on Monday.
Piyusha said: ‘We had just wanted a relaxing week in the sun, but we came back completely exhausted. I understand there are problems with flights, but it was the total lack of care or understanding from the ground staff.
‘They were disinterested and did not give us any information. We had to find out from a shop worker that we could use our tickets to get a sandwich and soft drink. No one at the airport had a clue what to do.
‘If anyone asked a question they were just dismissed, and the staff would threaten to call the police. Their behaviour was awful.
‘We can all understand that delays can happen which part of life but the fact there was no communication, no sympathy and no reassurance is horrible.’
A spokesman for Ryanair said: ‘This flight from Tenerife to London Stansted (22 Oct) was delayed due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft.
‘Affected passengers received regular updates via their Ryanair app, SMS and email and were offered overnight accommodation. However, due to a lack of transfer availability, some passengers remained at the airport and were provided with food & drink vouchers.
‘Any passengers who organised their own transport to their hotel can expense this back on Ryanair.com.
‘Ryanair sincerely apologises to passengers for this unavoidable delay.’
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