Ryanair flight grounded after ‘someone flushed toilet when they shouldn’t have’
A passenger has told how a flight was delayed for four hours at Dublin Airport as chaos reigned after a toilet with a cracked pipe onboard a Ryanair plane was flushed by accident.
And confusion at the airport involving the plane going to Amsterdam also meant some passengers missing their separate flight from Dublin to Naples, reports Dublin Live.
Flight FR3104 was due to depart Dublin Airport at 3.30pm as it began its journey to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
But the expected one hour and ten-minute journey soon turned into a six-hour odyssey leading to passengers not arriving in the Netherlands until after 11pm local time.
One passenger on the flight recalled the delays beginning as they were queuing up to board.
He said: "The gate was due to open at 2.40pm, but we were left standing there until half 3.
"Eventually, passengers got on at around 3.45pm, and the aircraft began to taxi out before a warning message from the pilot.
"The captain came over the radio to explain that the toilets weren't working on-board.
"There was a bit of a fight at the top of the plane, I think someone had gone in and flushed it when they really shouldn't have.
"One of the flight crew said there was a cracked pipe, which they had patched up but had broken again, and the captain pulled up after he had started moving."
At about 4.40pm, the passengers "were forced back off".
Ukrainian prosecutors identify Russian commander who 'caused child's death'
The aircraft dropped the passengers off and the new flight was set to take off at 6.20pm, but that was eventually delayed to 7.20pm as a replacement aircraft had reportedly not arrived.
Then the situation deteriorated as more passengers arrived in the departure lounge for a flight to Naples, with many reportedly missing the connection, with some even ending up "in hysterics at the staff."
After the Naples fiasco, the departure gate for the Amsterdam flight was then changed again to an upstairs gate and another delay, this time to an 8.35pm flight.
Eventually, a replacement aircraft did arrive and the flight was all ready to go, until a flight attendant fell on the plane stairs and needed an ambulance.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
"She must have got some whack as we were told to watch out for blood on the ground!" the witness said.
The flight finally departed Dublin just after 9pm, and made a smooth journey over to Amsterdam.
A Ryanair spokeswoman told Dublin Live: “This flight from Dublin to Amsterdam (May 20) was delayed due to an issue with the aircraft lavatories.
"While Ryanair quickly arranged an alternative aircraft for this flight to minimise the disruption to passengers, Air Traffic Control slot delays led to a further delay before departing for Amsterdam at 19.35 (local time) – 4hrs 5mins after its scheduled departure time.
"Affected passengers were notified of the delays via email. Ryanair sincerely apologises to customers for this unfortunate delay."
Source: Read Full Article