Posted on February 22, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

Have you heard the one about Ryanair stranding a plane full of half-term holidaymakers on the wrong Canary Island?  This story would be funny if it wasn’t true.

Yep.  That’s right. Last week a pilot who tried to land in Lanzarote during a thunderstorm was forced to divert to Fuerteventura.  It’s at this point that I should point out that Fuerteventura is a completely separate island, surrounded by water, with no road links into Lanzarote.

Holidaymakers were left in shock as airline officials made no effort to help them get to their intended destination.  Some passengers have even said that Ryanair staff ‘abandoned’ them at the airport, leaving them with no idea of what to do next.

One family was left with no other option but to foot the bill for a £400 hotel room and ferry tickets to Lanzarote. Imagine.   A woman who was travelling alone with her children said she had no clue what to do next and spoke to passengers in a similar situation (non-Ryanair) who told her that their airline organised hotel accommodation and coaches to pick everyone up.

I bet they were rightly shocked to hear how Ryanair staff announced on the plane that due to the bad weather, it would be up to passengers to make their own way overland.

Ok, fair enough, you can’t blame Ryanair for the bad weather, but you have to admit, leaving passengers on an island with nowhere to stay is truly unbelievable.