Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Fez passengers outraged by Ryanair


More than 100 passengers flying from Fez to Paris last week refused to leave an aircraft after it was diverted to Belgium, reports the Yahoo travel website.



The flight was scheduled to leave Fez at 7.15pm, but was delayed by three hours. By that time the airport at Beauvais near Paris was closed. The flight crew decided to divert the flight and landed at Liege in Belgium at around 11.30pm local time.

Passengers were furious. They decided to stay on board until someone agreed to take them to their original destination. They stayed on the plane for four hours in complete darkness, after the crew had left. They had no access to the toilets which had been locked, and no food or water. After long hours of negotiations, officials convinced them to leave the aircraft. Passengers were then asked to wait for buses to take them to Beauvais.

A firefighter told AFP: "The negotiation was so difficult that we weren't sure they would come out. People are obviously outraged."

6 comments:

Kevin - Dublin said...

Bloody Ryanair! What a bunch of corporate thugs! And, check out their ... yuck photo: http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/4336724/Flight-attendant-bikini-calendar

Diedre said...

Oh Kevin ! That was really ugly! It makes me want to fly any other airline. At least most airlines speak English. Last time on Ryanair they seemed to only speak Latvian or Polish.

TonyR said...

A couple of things here, firstly here we have a .nz website criticising Ryanair when their own national airline had an advert with cabin crew wearing only body paint!

Regarding the second comment, all cabin crew speak English, even if it isn't accented like ER II that maybe you would prefer.

Ryanair may indeed be a unpopular co. but remember this is the view from FEZ, and no other airlines offer comprehensive cheap flights from FEZ that go anywhere other than France.
Ryanair have been fantastic for Fez both for tourism and easy access for returning MREs.

Mr. Jones said...

I am shocked and appalled that Ryanair is raising money for charity! What is this world coming to? How dare those "corporate thugs" help provide food for the needy.

Diedre - every Ryanair crew member that I've encountered on my 20 plus flights with them has spoken English. This might have something to do with the fact that it's an Irish airline.

Like others I get frustrated with Ryanair's non-stop sales pitches and lack of polish, however I just flew from Fez to Madrid for 12 Euros round trip. That makes a little inconvenience worthwhile.

Yes this Paris flight was a freak show and the airline screwed up, but this sort of thing happens a lot. Just be aware of the connection between cost and service. Fez-Madrid is cheaper than Fez to Rabat on the train, and don't get me started about the headaches and delays I've faced on that journey!

Like Tony said, Ryanair is great for tourism and Moroccans returning to Fez. If you want to be pampered and treated like royalty then seek other options!

Vanda said...

Dear Mr Jones,
Giving to charity does not buy any company the right to treat people in the way Ryanair does. Yes they have been good Fes, but good corporate behavior should be part of all business models.

Piggy said...

Bravo for Ryanair. You get what you pay for. Want more then go via Royal Air Maroc. I am sure you would notice the big difference in price but I doubt that you would notice any difference in service!