Horrified Ryanair passengers said they “thought it was the end” as scary weather conditions forced their plane to divert.
The flight was bound for Palma, Majorca, in Spain but passengers described terrifying turbulence as the plane attempted to approach the runway on Saturday evening, December 7.
One passenger, Nekane Otero, said: “It was horrible. We could see the runway, but the plane was lurching from side to side.
“People were saying, ‘Close your eyes, close your eyes.’ I’ve traveled a lot, but this time, I thought it was the end.”
After an aborted landing, the pilot informed passengers they would be diverting, initially to Barcelona but ultimately landing in Valencia, MajorcaDaily reported.
There, the plane refueled, and passengers were told they would make another attempt to reach Palma.
However, half of the passengers chose to disembark, unwilling to face the turbulent conditions again. Nekane was among those who stayed onboard.
But instead of heading back to Palma, the flight returned to its original departure point in Santiago de Compostela, leaving passengers frustrated and stranded.
Another passenger, Antonio Comas, said: “We were told we’d return to Palma, but they took us back to Santiago instead. We were left not knowing how or when we’d get to our destination.”
Express.co.uk has approached Ryanair for comment.
But it wasn’t just Spain that was battered by strong winds.Planes all over the UK struggled to land over the weekend as Storm Darragh hit.
Heathrow Airport saw several planes perform go-arounds before safely landing, while Manchester Airport dealt with multiple flight diversions. A passenger flight from Poland, for instance, had to divert to Glasgow after two failed landing attempts in Manchester.
One passenger on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Heathrow described their nerve-wracking experience.
Pip Tomson, who was onboard, said the plane attempted to land three times before diverting to Frankfurt. The plane stayed in Germany for a couple of hours before attempting to fly to Hethrow again.
Pip said: “I’m not a nervous flyer, but I was thinking, ‘This isn’t great.’ The final landing attempt at Heathrow was smoother, and everyone clapped when we touched down.”
Pip also praised the airline staff, calling them “calm and patient.”