British tourists in Lanzarote have been furious that Ryanair ‘abandoned’ them and forced them to sleep on baggage carousels and on the airport floor after their flights were delayed for more than 20 hours.
Hundreds of passengers, including young children and the elderly, endured the long wait at Lanzarote airport over the weekend, insisting that Ryanair did not provide them with adequate accommodation and food during the terrible delay.
The irate passengers were forced to sleep wherever they could find space in the airport terminal building and claimed they had to starve all night after all the restaurants and shops closed.
Joanne McGlynn, 40, from Cardiff, told MailOnline: ‘It was a complete nightmare, Ryanair just walked out on us.
“Our flight was supposed to leave for Bristol at 6:20pm on Sunday and finally took off at 3:30pm on Monday, just over 21 hours later.
Joanne McGlynn and Leyton Williams documented their Ryanair wait from hell
The passengers waited so long that many camped on the ground
Passengers say they were delayed for hours with little information
Some passengers had to resort to sleeping in luggage racks
We spent the whole Sunday night in the terminal building. Ryanair did not even provide us with hotel accommodation. There were small children and old people, and they all slept where they could. It was total chaos and the way Ryanair treated us is shameful.”
Ryanair flights to other destinations including Manchester, Glasgow and Bournemouth were also seriously delayed.
Ms McGlynn had traveled to Lanzarote over the weekend with her partner Leyton Williams to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Mr Williams, 53, a bus driver in Cardiff, said: ‘I had to take a day off work because of this delay and it cost me money. Ryanair staff just didn’t bother with us.
Tourists complained that they were not provided with a proper explanation for the delay and that as the night wore on all Ryanair staff left for the airport leaving them to fend for themselves.
Ms McGlynn added: ‘When the flight was delayed they told us to collect our luggage and said they would arrange a hotel for all of us to stay. But after we collected our bags, the staff just disappeared. There was no hotel, it was a complete disaster.
Others tried to get some rest by sitting on the ground and leaning back.
Mothers and their young children were also stuck waiting.
Buyers claim they were abandoned by the airline.
It revealed that passengers were given a voucher of just 4 euros (£3.50) to spend in the airport’s shops and restaurants, all of which had closed for the night.
She added: ‘That’s a pathetic amount, what can you get for £3.50, especially in an airport? But even if you wanted to spend it, you couldn’t because all the restaurants and shops were closed.’
One passenger revealed that when he asked Ryanair staff what had caused the delay, they told him it was due to a “sandstorm”.
But he added: ‘It was just a bunch of crap because other airlines had no problem getting off the ground. They kept going around and coming up with a bunch of lies. We received no help and we were stranded at the airport.
Nobody cared about us. They promised us a hotel for the night, but they didn’t even do it for us.
Ms McGlynn said she tried to contact Ryanir in the UK but did not receive a reply.
She and her partner paid £900 for their three-night trip to Lanzarote, which included flights and a hotel.
She revealed that the delay had cost her and her partner £200 each in lost income as they had to take Monday off plus another £50 in additional car parking fees.
Ms McGlynn added: “The whole experience of coming home with Ryanair put a damper on what was a wonderful weekend.”
The couple along with other passengers said they wanted compensation from Ryanair for the extra costs they incurred and the inconvenience of staying overnight at the Lanzarote airport.
Ryanair has been contacted for comment.
Customers claim they were made to wait 21 hours for their flight
Many are now seeking compensation from the airline.
Ryanair has yet to comment on the disruption faced by Bristol-bound customers.
