The Ryanair flight from Manchester to Nantes is understood to have diverted to Tours Val de Loire Airport, with passengers claiming they were left stranded with no information
A passenger has blasted Ryanair saying people were left “desperate” after their flight was diverted and they were stranded at an airport in France.
The Ryanair flight from Manchester to Nantes is understood to have been diverted to Tours Val de Loire Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Passengers claimed they were forced to wait several hours without information before they were put on coaches to Nantes, where they arrived later in the evening.
Some say they were then due to travel on elsewhere and had rented vehicles, but that car hire kiosks had closed by the time they would arrive, leaving them stuck with nowhere to stay for the night.
Passengers claimed their flight, which was delayed taking off in Manchester, had circled around Nantes for around 30 minutes before making the diversion to Tours, around two hours away by land transport, with the pilot saying this was due to the weather conditions.
Sharon Norton, who had travelled with her husband, said they were ‘desperately’ trying to get travel information but that no Ryanair reps helped them at the airport. “We left 35 minutes late, got near Nantes and then circled for half an hour,” she said.
“Then we got told we were getting diverted to Tours airport. We arrived there, there was roughly 170 people, including disabled people and children. We were there from 3.15 until 8.45pm.”
Ryanair then sent a message to passengers informing them coaches were being organised to transport them back to Nantes, arriving hours later than originally scheduled. Sharon was able to head to a pre-booked apartment, but others were not so lucky.
“There were no vouchers and no other communication,” she said. “People have lost money, accommodation and hire cars, it’s disgusting. Before we left, the pilot said the weather was the same in Nantes, but after we got near he said it was unsafe to land.
“We have all been desperate trying to find out what was happening. There was no rep, but one person at the airport was apologising and trying to help people.
“People just sat for ages. A lot arranged pick-ups, some hired a car at the airport but a lot waited for the bus and will now get to Nantes airport with nowhere to stay tonight because they were travelling onwards. People were frantically trying to make arrangements.”
Meanwhile another traveller, Alex Logen, said the plan for Wednesday night appeared to be ‘rough sleeping’, reports the Manchester Evening News. He had a hire car arranged for pick up from Nantes, but said the hire kiosk would be closed by the time they arrived. He said all the hotels in Nantes appeared to have been booked.
“We have nowhere to stay tonight as we had another 100 miles to go,” he said. “By the time we get there, the hire car kiosk will be closed.
“As it stands, [we will be] rough sleeping. All the hotels are booked in Nantes. It isn’t paying that’s the problem for us, its finding somewhere that has space.”
The flight path, according to FlightRadar, shows that the aircraft travelled south from Manchester and over the English Channel. It circled multiple times over Nantes before then making the diversion to Tours.
The Mirror has contacted Ryanair for comment.
