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Earlier this week, I wrote about a Delta Air Lines flight in Las Vegas that left passengers on a plane without air conditioning for hours. Several passengers and a flight attendant needed medical attention. JetBlue had a similar situation in the Dominican Republic last week. On Wednesday, a similar situation unfolded in Malaga, Spain when a Ryanair flight kept passengers onboard a plane with a mechanical issue during 108-degree weather.
@iconize Grazie dell’orrenda esperienza @Ryanair
Ryanair flight FR4949 was scheduled to depart Malaga Airport (AGP) and fly to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP). A mechanical issue prevented the plane from departing. While onboard, the passengers sweltered in the oppressive heat while a maintenance crew attempted to fix a mechanical issue. Conditions on the plane got so hot that passengers began to faint. After three hours passengers were allowed to deplane, but several needed medical attention and emergency personnel had to tend to them on the tarmac.
TikTok user @iconize posted the video above of passengers standing and sweating on the plane. He described it as “the worst flight of [his] life.” He also commented:
At one point I seriously thought that I could no longer breathe and that something was happening to me. It was like being inside a sauna but with the door locked. [Ryanair] didn’t give us any kind of assistance except for a €4 bonus after four hours of waiting.”
Ryanair released a statement. It reads:
This flight from Malaga to Milan (19 July) was delayed due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft. To avoid missing the flight’s take-off slot, passengers remained onboard while engineers serviced the aircraft. Unfortunately, the aircraft was not cleared for service in time and missed the slot and passengers were disembarked. As Malaga Airport’s air conditioning was not working at the allocated stand for this flight, the crew requested to reposition at another stand where air conditioning was working, and cooled the plane before re-boarding passengers. Once re-boarded, passengers were provided with water and departed safely for Milan 10 minutes later.”
This is another unacceptable situation. Just like you should not leave a dog in a parked car, passengers should not be asked to remain in a sweltering aircraft. It’s good that the aircraft was repaired, but passengers should not have been on board.
Anthony’s Take: Whether in Las Vegas, the Dominican Republic, or Spain, the temperatures this summer are extreme and airlines need to remember that they are transporting people. If presented with these situations, I would have deplaned long before I got to the point of fainting. It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback, but I can’t imagine tolerating this for hours.
(Featured Image Credit: Newsflash.)
(H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo.)
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