Passengers were left “screaming and throwing up” after their plane was hit with turbulence as Storm Pia wreaks havoc in the UK. An easyJet plane was forced to divert from Gatwick to Luton after 113mph gales and torrential rain battered parts of Britain this week.
Passenger Toby Holmes, 57, told MailOnline: “People were screaming and throwing up as we tried to land. One man looked like he was having a nervous breakdown.”
Mr Holmes, who was travelling back from a trip to Budapest with his wife, said “more than half” of passengers got off the plane after it landed in Luton to refuel. A row was said to have erupted between passengers and cabin crew who tried to calm the situation down.
Mr Holmes claimed the pilot was “a bit rude” and “sarcastic” – causing tension in the cabin. “It’s been a long day and everyone’s a bit frustrated, it doesn’t help that it’s in the run-up to Christmas,” he said. Mr Holmes said passengers who chose to depart at Luton were told they wouldn’t be entitled to compensation.
A spokesperson for easyJet said:“Due to strong winds at London Gatwick gusting outside the limits of the aircraft, flight EZY8734 from Budapest to London Gatwick yesterday evening was unable to land and so was required to divert to London Luton.
“The Captain provided passengers with the option to disembark in London Luton if they wished to, or remain on the aircraft while it refuelled before continuing the journey to London Gatwick once the weather conditions had improved.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused by the weather.”
