A pilot has claimed the airline pulls out 'all the stops' to avoid paying passengers ticket refunds for delays. Earlier this week I found myself in a position many budget airline passengers will recognise. Having got through Stansted Airport check-in with two hours to spare, I traipsed over to the boarding gate ready for my .
Half an hour before the scheduled lift-off time, the gate suddenly changed - sparking a moment of panic among passengers who thought they'd missed their flight, and confusion from staff who didn't seem to know what was going on. Once we had found the new gate and rushed over to it, a member of Ryanair crew told us the plane had been delayed by 45 minutes. The plane turned up and we all clambered aboard, only to find ourselves sat in the cabin for well over an hour before lift-off.
"I'm very sorry...
" our pilot said over the intercom, prompting the woman next to me to burst into tears. She later explained she'd have no way to get home when we eventually arrived. "I'm very sorry, but we've been held up by weather, which means our crew will be over their legal hours.
We are going to have to wait while a back-up crew arrives." For the next hour and a half we sat in our seats in an increasingly hot and stuffy Ryanair plane cabin, waiting for the crew to arrive so we could lift off. Sweating passengers asked the crew left onboard for free water, only to be told that wasn't possible as they'd be made to pay for it themselves.
A baby burst into tears, prompting .