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Holidaymakers flying on easyJet from Hampshire to Mallorca landed in the far north of France instead – because the plane could not carry enough fuel to reach the Spanish island.
Flight 7292 was due to depart from Southampton at 9.10am on Monday 2 September for a flight of just over two hours to Palma.
But the plane was so heavily loaded that it could not fill its tanks sufficiently to reach Mallorca within normal safety margins.
Southampton airport recently had its runway extended to allow more holiday flights. But on this occasion the Airbus A319 could not carry its payload of passengers and baggage plus sufficient fuel for the 800-mile journey to Palma and still safely take off within the limits of the runway.
One passenger told The Independent: “We were told that they would either have to turn away 20 passengers or stop to refuel along the way.”
Reducing the weight of passengers and their baggage would allow the crew to take on enough fuel. But besides the disruption to their plans, it would have triggered £4,400 in compensation costs, as well as additional expense in taking the holidaymakers to Gatwick for alternative flights.
The captain chose to refuel.
The obvious refuelling locations would be either Nantes in western France or Paris CDG – both under 300 miles away and in the right general direction for Palma.
But instead of heading south towards the sunshine, the passengers found themselves going east to Lille – the northernmost big city in France.
The flight departed slightly late and touched down in Lille after a 45-minute flight in the wrong direction. Passengers stayed on board during the 45-minute stay on the ground at the French airport.
They finally started heading south shortly after noon, at about the time they should have been touching down in Palma.
The total delay was 90 minutes, which means passengers are unable to claim compensation.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Flight EJU7292 from Southampton to Palma on 2 September diverted to Lille for additional fuel to comply with weight restrictions in Southampton.
“Pilots always have to take into account various factors to ensure the weight and balance of the aircraft is correct in line with safety procedures such as weather and runway length. Once additional fuel had been taken in Lille, which was chosen due to stand availability and staff resource, the flight continued to Palma.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our highest priority and we are sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused.”
