Laurence Dollimore
BRITISH and Irish tourists have been left fuming after they were forced to complete their own journeys when their Ryanair flights to Portugal were diverted to Spain.
Dozens of customers took to social media this week to blast the budget carrier, who they claimed failed to arrange promised replacement buses for the last leg of the journey.
The flights on Wednesday were a Barcelona to Porto service and a Belfast to Porto flight.
Both had to be diverted to Santiago de Compostela, northern Spain, for reasons unknown.
Passengers claim Ryanair told them there would be buses that would take them to Porto, which was still around 230km away.
However after disembarking from the Barcelona flight, some 200 passengers suddenly discovered there were not buses or taxis arranged for them.
They were then allegedly told to sort out their own transport and to claim it back from Ryanair.
One fuming Brit wrote on X: “Why on earth did you fly us to Santiago de Compostela on the false promise of buses to Porto only to tell us when we got here that there are no buses and we must take taxis to Porto and claim the money back? It’s now 01:50 in Spain and there are no taxis.”
Another passenger explained how the flight took off from Barcelona late and that at first it was redirected to Lisbon, from where the trip would continue to the final destination by bus.
She added: “10 minutes later they told us that it would be diverted to Santiago de Compostela because it was closer and the trip on the arranged buses would take less time.
“Once in Santiago de Compostela there was NO mention on the plane and attendants had no info.
“At the gate, no info. At the exit, no info. We did get emails and SMS that the arranged buses were on their way… Ground staff show up to tell us the same, but no times…
“One hour later those ground staff told us the buses were never going to come because it was impossible to arrange in the middle of nowhere. So, it was… Good luck with that. Here’s a form, try and claim back.”
A fuming traveller on the Belfast flight said: “You’re a pack of b*****ds. Flight late leaving from Belfast to Porto, told initially we would be flying but then said they would take us to Santiago de Compostela and buses would be ready to take us onwards.
“Arrived 01:50 to be told there are no buses, won’t be any buses..”
Passengers claimed they were forced to spend hundreds of euros on taxis.
Another said: “It’s great to be dropped off at the wrong airport, at 1:30am, 240km from your destination.”
Responding to multiple complaints on X, Ryanair wrote: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
It asked customers to make contact via a private message and provide further details so their complaints could be properly handled.
The Olive Press has contacted Ryanair for comment.
