A Ryanair flight that was travelling from Manchester to Dublin found itself diverting 500 miles to Paris as Storm Isha battered the United Kingdom.
Flight FR555 was already an hour late for take-off after adverse weather conditions on Sunday afternoon meant it was ‘stuck on the runway’. And, when it finally did manage to depart, it later found itself circling the Irish Sea as it attempted to land at Dublin Airport.
Having aborted the eventual landing, the plane found itself diverting 500 miles to Paris. According to FlightRadar24, the aircraft eventually landed at Paris Beauvais Airport.
Storm Isha has brought winds of up to 90mph to the UK with flights up and down the country hit by delays. Earlier Dublin Airport warned flights were being delayed or cancelled due to the weather.
Journalist Nicola Bardon was among those on the flight. She told the Manchester Evening News: “We were already delayed leaving Manchester. We got to Dublin and were over the runway, and then the next thing, we were back in the sky.
“We attempted [to land] again and then the pilot made an announcement that Dublin was too windy and that Manchester was full, so we were going to the East Midlands. About 20 minutes later, we were updated to say the UK airports were not an option and that they had made the decision to go to Paris Beauvais.
“There was a big laugh from the passengers when the pilot informed us of Paris initially. One person yelled ‘Welcome to Pari, would prefer to be in Kerry’.”
The Express has contacted Ryanair about the delay. Dublin Airport said airlines cancelled 148 flights on Sunday with a further 35 diverted to other airports and 27 “go-arounds”.
Elsewhere bosses at Glasgow Airport said a Tui flight from Sharm El Sheikh declared an emergency before being diverted to Manchester. Speaking to the PA news agency, they said the flight was “diverted to Manchester due to current weather conditions”.
Adding: “This is happening across many UK airports due to Storm Isha.”
The PA news agency said TUI was approached to comment.