Travellers on a flight returning from the Canary Islands were furious after being “detained” for 90 minutes after they arrived back in the UK.
Holidaymakers on the Jet2 flight from Tenerife said airport authorities offered no explanation for why they had been left sitting on the tarmac in transit buses airside.
The trip went smoothly, with passengers disembarking as usual on Saturday evening (February 5), until they found themselves inexplicably unable to leave the buses.
Left in the dark as to why they had been held up, many became frustrated at their poor treatment.
One passenger even reported that police had to be called in to calm down the “volatile situation”.
They described how after about 30 minutes of being stuck on the bus at East Midlands Airport travellers were moved to a separate part of the airport, where staff continued to hold them, Derbyshire Live reports.
"In essence, we left the aircraft at about 7pm and were loaded into the usual transit buses, but remained in there for about 30mins with no explanation as to why," they said.
“We were then told that for public health reasons, we were not being allowed to leave and instead were taken to a large hangar/hall at the far end of the airport."
The passenger added: "Many people were getting very irate and it became very volatile so the police were called to calm things down."
Another half-an-hour went by before the frustrated travellers were finally loaded back onto the buses and taken to passport control.
Yet there was still no reason forthcoming from either the airport authorities or the airline as to why they had been held.
The customer said: "After a further 30 mins, we were loaded back onto the buses and finally allowed to pass through passport control.
"There was little information given as to why we had been detained but we finally left the airport almost 90 mins after leaving the plane. And it was raining!"
They added: "I felt sorry for the junior staff trying to manage an increasingly volatile situation but the way it was handled by the airport and Jet2 left a lot to be desired.”
East Midlands Airport has now revealed that the delay was necessary due to a suspected medical incident on the flight.
A spokesperson for the Leicestershire air hub explained that the incident was standard procedure in such circumstances.
"Following a suspected health incident on board an inbound passenger aircraft at the weekend, a welfare reception centre was set up to hold passengers in accordance with Public Health England requirements," they said.
"Following a doctor's assessment, passengers were given the all clear to proceed with their onward journey."
