Passengers on a Ryanair flight to Birmingham were allegedly passing out and throwing up without air conditioning on board. Eva Gregory, a 16-year-old passenger, said people became distressed, removed their tops and suffered medical emergencies in the extreme heat while the aircraft remained on the ground in Malta.
Passengers describe ordeal on grounded flight
Eva was travelling on the FR7268 service to Birmingham Airport with her mum, Angela Gregory, and brother, Samuel. She said she began experiencing nausea before having a panic attack as she watched the situation unfold around her, reported news agency Jam Press.
Ryanair said the flight, which was due to take off at 5.40pm on August 10, was delayed until 7pm due to a "minor technical issue" which led to a passenger becoming "ill onboard". Before boarding, Eva claimed passengers had spent around 30 minutes inside a bus without air conditioning. They were then moved to a second bus, which Eva said had only limited air conditioning, for approximately another 30 minutes, she claimed.
Passengers wait on airstrip and board hot plane
Passengers then allegedly had to wait on the airstrip in the blazing heat for a further 20 minutes before finally boarding the flight which had no air conditioning. Eva, from Spondon, Derby, told Need To Know: "When we boarded, it was immediately obvious the air conditioning was not on. It was like walking into extreme heat. We got on the plane but were sitting and waiting in the heat with no air conditioning at all for over an hour. All the passengers were extremely agitated and quite quickly became frustrated. People were taking their tops off because of the heat."
Eva claimed she saw two passengers lose consciousness and that other travellers were being sick. She claimed: "Two people passed out, although I’m not sure how many were throwing up. I was experiencing the feeling of needing to throw up, but as I have a phobia of being sick, it gave me a panic attack. The elderly people seemed extremely distressed and could potentially have experienced worse medical problems. They [the staff] didn’t even offer free bottles of water to anyone, even those experiencing medical emergencies."
Cabin crew praised but staff ignored warnings
Despite the issues, Eva defended the cabin crew, claiming they had tried to stop passengers being allowed aboard until the issue had been addressed. She said: "The Ryanair cabin crew absolutely did their best. They were telling them not to let us onboard until the air conditioning was fixed. The other workers did not listen to the cabin crew and then the crew were the ones dealing with passengers’ anger when it was not their fault."
The air conditioning began working gradually after the aircraft became airborne, Eva claimed. She added: "The heat and witnessing medical emergencies made me feel uneasy. The whole situation makes me feel extremely angry. I want the story to be shared and for Ryanair to fix its mistakes and stop valuing money over the passengers."
Footage shared online and Ryanair responds
Footage shared online showed passengers standing in the cabin as crew appeared to attend to people on board. Text over the video alleged people were 'passing out, throwing up, crying and having panic attacks'. Viewers who claimed to be fellow passengers replied to the video on TikTok. Sami said: "It was horrendous." Charlie added: "People passing out was crazy."
A Ryanair spokesperson told BirminghamLive: "This flight from Malta to Birmingham was delayed prior to departure due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft and, subsequently, became delayed after a passenger became ill onboard. Following an inspection of the aircraft by engineers, the aircraft was cleared to operate and this flight departed Malta at 7pm local."
