Ryanair sparks fury after 'dumping' Brit tourists 143 miles from their destination at 1am
Passengers were informed buses would transport them to Porto, located about 230 km away but upon disembarking from the Barcelona flight, around 200 passengers found no buses or taxis available.
Several British and Irish tourists were left up in the arms after they were reportedly forced to complete their journeys when their Ryanair flights to Portugal were diverted to Spain.
Many of the customers took to social media this week to blast the budget carrier, who they claimed failed to arrange promised replacement buses for the last leg of the journey, reports Olive Press News.
On Wednesday, Ryanair flights from Barcelona and Belfast to Porto were diverted to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain for unknown reasons.
Passengers were informed that buses would transport them to Porto, located about 230km away.
However, upon disembarking from the Barcelona flight, around 200 passengers found no buses or taxis available, it has been claimed.
@Ryanair why on earth did you fly us to Santiago de Compostela on the false promise of buses to Porto only to tell us when we got here that there are no buses and we must take taxis to Porto and claim the money back? It’s now 01:50 in Spain and there are no taxis.
— Andrew Gravett (@Grav1968) October 2, 2024
They were reportedly advised to arrange their own transportation and seek reimbursement from Ryanair.
One fuming Brit wrote on X: “Why on earth did you fly us to Santiago de Compostela on the false promise of buses to Porto only to tell us when we got here that there are no buses and we must take taxis to Porto and claim the money back? It’s now 01:50 in Spain and there are no taxis."
Another passenger explained how the flight took off from Barcelona late and that at first it was redirected to Lisbon, from where the trip would continue to the final destination by bus.
She added: "10 minutes later they told us that it would be diverted to Santiago de Compostela because it was closer and the trip on the arranged buses would take less time.
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@Ryanair we are on the same flight. It is now 3.20am and the Ryanair member of staff left the women working for the airport to deal with this. There is a machine which sells water and sweets but no receipt. What will happen?
— Melissa Martin (@Hackneymel) October 3, 2024
"Once in Santiago de Compostela, there was NO mention on the plane and attendants had no info. At the gate, no info. At the exit, no info. We did get emails and SMS that the arranged buses were on their way… Ground staff show up to tell us the same, but no times…
"One hour later those ground staff told us the buses were never going to come because it was impossible to arrange in the middle of nowhere. So, it was… Good luck with that. Here’s a form, try and claim back."
Passengers claimed they were forced to spend hundreds of euros on taxis. Another said: "It’s great to be dropped off at the wrong airport, at 1:30am, 240km from your destination."
Responding to multiple complaints on X, Ryanair wrote: "We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused."
It asked customers to make contact via a private message and provide further details so their complaints could be properly handled.
Express.co.uk has contacted Ryanair for comment.
