Passengers headed to Spain 'dumped' 180km from destination and made to pay £400

18 June 2024 , 04:25

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Aer Lingus passengers were 'dumped' outside an airport over 100 miles from their intended destination (Image: Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Passengers on a flight to Spain from Dublin have claimed they were "dumped" outside the airport in the middle of the night, forcing them to fork out hundreds of euros for taxis to reach their intended destination. Flight EI 0174, which was scheduled to fly from Dublin to Alicante on Saturday night, was instead diverted to Valencia - a city at least 110 miles away.

The airline initially informed passengers that they would be transported by bus to Alicante, but later announced that no vehicles were available. Adding to the Aer Lingus travellers' frustration, they were then told that taxis would be provided, but there weren't enough to go around, leaving many to pay up to €400 out of their own pocket.

Shauna Fagan said her parents were among those stranded at the airport and had to shell out €350 to get to Alicante. She claimed Aer Lingus offered them no assistance. She said: "They were then told that their ground partner Avia would provide surface transport to Alicante.", reports the Irish Mirror.

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She continued: "At almost half one Spanish time, I got another message from my dad saying 'no assistance. We are all outside airport waiting on buses to show up. I'd say we be here a while'."

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Passengers faced huge taxi bills after they were diverted over 100 miles from their destination (No credit)

This was quickly followed by another message: "Shortly followed up with a 'it's amazing when things like this happen no one around from Aer Lingus at all or anyone else I'd say there's about 200 of us waiting outside'."

Another disgruntled passenger took to Twitter to vent their frustration, tweeting: "Aer Lingus flight diverted from Alicante to Valencia. Every passenger dumped outside the airport. No rep. No advice. Disgraceful."

Aer Lingus explained in an email sent to passengers regarding a diversion caused due to adverse weather conditions. The airline stated: "Aer Lingus flight EI0574 Dublin Alicante was forced to divert into Valencia Airport on Saturday due to thunderstorms and adverse weather conditions, as was the case for many other airlines.

"Due to high levels of demand on bus and taxi services at Valencia, some customers may have secured their own transportation to Alicante, and these costs will be reimbursed."

Pat Flanagan