A man travelling to Spain for his birthday had his flight cancelled after they had boarded the plane. Ferenc Csikos had booked a Ryanair flight to Malaga from Bristol Airport yesterday (June 6) evening.
Initially, there were no delays and the 34-year-old even boarded the plan on time. However, once all the passengers had sat down, he claimed the captain told them to get off as the plane was needed elsewhere.
The 34-year-old said he then had to wait for several hours at the airport's boarding area as their next flight was arriving at 11.50pm. Mr Csikos, from Bedminster, said his first day of the holiday has already been ruined.
Read more: Live updates as Bristol Airport faces further disruption with more flights cancelled
He is one of hundreds of travellers who have been hit with disruption as airlines have been cancelling flights this month. A family flying out of Bristol has described their ordeal after five of their flights were cancelled as they attempted to meet up for a celebration.
Mr Csikos said: "The airport was full of people waiting for their delayed flights, some from the morning. I got there three hours earlier just in case.
"Our flight was on time, in fact we boarded the plane on time. We all sat down and buckled up, they even started the usual procedure before flight, when the captain told us that we need to get off as the plane was needed somewhere else and that they will send another plane from Malaga which will pick us up.
"When we got off, they told us there is a technical issue with the plane and that's why we needed to get off, but that's not what the pilot said, plus we saw the same gate open up for people going to Faro, and watched the same plane take off with them."
Mr Csikos said they were then told their flight would be arriving at 11.50pm from Malaga, adding he wasn't let out of the terminal despite saying he would rather go to his home in Bedminster for the six hours he would have to wait for the plane.
"I had to spend that time in the lounge that was full of people sitting on the floor as there were no free seats," he continued. "While waiting, I saw that easyJet kept cancelling one flight after another and me and the other passengers were worried if Ryanair would do the same with our flight.
"The plane arrived around midnight and we boarded it. We waited for a good 30 minutes for take-off and arrived in Malaga around 4am, instead of the original 9pm arrival time.
"They did offer me to take any other Ryanair flight if I want, but what's the point if I had my hotel booked in Malaga? The way they handled it was incredibly unacceptable.
"To wait until the last second and then empty a whole plane, like it's some bus that has terminated is unbelievable. I would have accepted it if they delayed it before boarding , but this...
"I only came to Malaga for four nights to celebrate my upcoming birthday and to see the city, and the first day is already ruined. I had a few hours sleep, and I had to wake up as I don't want this day to go to waste as well."
Ryanair has been approached for comment.
