One couple couldn't believe it when their plane ended up landing in a completely different country to their intended destination.
The pair were due to fly home to the UK after a trip to France, but accidentally ended up in Spain instead.
Elise Mallia, 33, and Jessy Jezequel, 41, found themselves almost 1,300 kilometres away from their home destination after trying to fly back from Marseille to London.
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After visiting the French city to watch a football game, the couple accidentally ended up touching down in Madrid on their journey home, rather than London Stansted.
Elise told the Mirror UK: "An hour into our flight, Jesse said he thought he heard a flight attendant say Madrid, but we thought he had dreamed it.
"But after that we started realising all the flight attendants were speaking Spanish.
"When we asked, they told us we were going to Madrid - and we had no idea how that was possible."
She added they'd had their boarding passes scanned three times before they got on the flight and assumed they must have been wrong - but when they checked, they weren't.
"We were baffled and so were the flight attendants," she said.
"We got home in the end, but we still have no idea how it happened.
"It's not like getting the wrong bus - we literally ended up in a different country!"
The couple were booked on a flight from Marseille to Stansted shortly before 3pm on March 21, and headed towards what they believed was the correct gate to board.
Elise said she swore she saw 'Madrid' on the neighbouring gate to theirs.
"Surely it must be quite hard to actually get on the wrong plane because of the security," she said.
"Well, that was what we thought."
When they landed, the couple tried to explain to staff they weren't where they were supposed to be.
Elise questioned how no one noticed their boarding passes or the fact there were two extra passengers on the plane.
She and Jessy eventually ended up arriving home in London five hours later than expected.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told the Mirror UK: "Mr Jezequel and Ms Mallia boarded their flight from Marseille to London Stansted through the correct gate.
"However, these passengers then failed to follow the allocated route to the aircraft departing for London Stansted, crossed an unauthorised area and wrongly boarded a flight departing to Madrid.
"Both passengers were able to occupy the same seats they had booked for their original flight, as this flight was not fully booked, thus not alerting them to their error at this time.
"An announcement advising passengers of their final destination and estimated time of arrival is made before every flight departure – which should have alerted Mr Jezequel and Ms Mallia that they were on the wrong aircraft.
"Upon arriving at Madrid Airport, these passengers then realised their error and Ryanair staff were notified of these misrouted passengers. Mr Jezequel and Ms Mallia were accommodated on a flight from Madrid to London Stansted later that day.
"It is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.”
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