Ryanair flight from Spain to Manchester delayed, passengers trapped on 40 degree plane for hours

Passengers of a commercial aircraft spent hours trapped on a plane which reached temperatures of 40C.

Ryanair flight FR6597 was travelling from Barcelona, Spain, to Manchester in the UK but was delayed due to the weather.

Initially, the flight was supposed to depart at 4.50pm on July 21, but passengers did not board the aircraft until around 6pm.

Instead of promptly departing, though, passengers were trapped on the tarmac for two hours without air-conditioning as the temperature allegedly topped 40 degrees inside the cabin.

A 34-year-old teacher, Rachel, was onboard and told the Manchester Evening News that the outside temperature was in the early 30s.

“Everything seemed to be fine at first although it was very hot outside, 32 or 33C,” she said.

“We got a message to sit down as quickly as possible as there would be no air conditioning until the engines were on and we were moving.

“It was getting hotter and hotter and we were sitting there and we weren’t moving.”

She said that eventually cabin crew offered water to the passengers, before swiftly charging them.

“Then they gave out water and we thought it was free of charge but then they came though the cabin asking for whoever had taken the water with their payment machines and taking money,” she said.

“After the first 45 minutes people were dripping in sweat and we just weren’t getting any information.”

“The staff were telling us to sit down or we’d miss our slot and everyone sat down and we thought we were leaving but again nothing happened.

“Another 20 minutes went by and we were still sitting there and still waiting. Then we were told there would be a further delay.”

Rachel said some passengers desperately asked to be let off the plane, adding that “it got really bad”.

“It was scary at that point because there was no cool air at all,” she said.

“Everyone was pouring with sweat. It was like being locked inside a sauna. It felt exactly like that.

“There were children crying. There was a woman with a heart condition seated behind me who fainted. She was slumped over.”

The teacher said she was travelling with her own children whose “faces were all puffy because of the heat”, which she estimated “must have been in the high 40s”.

She added that there was a group of about 30 school students on the flight aged 15-16.

“It was actually shocking how they treated us. They wouldn’t do that to animals,” she said.

“They were telling us if anyone wanted to get off they wouldn’t be allowed back onto the plane.”

She said “a few people fainted”, adding that her husband almost did, too.

Around 8.20pm, more than two hours after the passengers boarded the plane, they were told to disembark and return to the terminal.

Rachel said some of the male passengers removed their sweat-soaked shirts once inside, but were quickly ordered to re-dress.

While waiting for their flight, the passengers were given €4 ($A6.50) vouchers to spend in the airport, she said, but the shops inside the airport terminal were closed.

After midnight, the passengers re-boarded the flight, which arrived in Manchester to cheers.

Rachel called it “an absolutely horrific experience” but did not blame the staff.

“I felt for the crew to be honest,” she said.

“I don’t really blame them. They were just doing their jobs and they were as hot as we were.

“I don’t think they really knew what was going on.”

A spokesperson from Ryanair told Manchester Evening News that the delays were because of a thunderstorm, adding that passengers were issued vouchers for refreshments.

“This flight from Barcelona to Manchester (21 Jul) was delayed prior to departure due to thunderstorms at Barcelona Airport. Passengers were disembarked during the delay and reboarded once weather conditions improved,” they said.

“Passengers booked on this flight received communications via email and PUSH notifications and were issued with refreshment vouchers during the delay.

“Once weather conditions improved, this flight departed for Manchester at 00:29am local time.”