Ryanair just set a new bar for airport-related chaos.
The low-cost Irish airline made an announcement so last-minute that it looked like passengers had only minutes to figure out what to do before the scheduled take-off time.
Social media questioned how the airline expected people to reach their gate on time.
Ryanair just set a new bar for airport-related chaos with a last-minute announcement
Ben Leonard/Pexels (not the actual photo)
The drama unfolded after Prestwick Airport in Scotland shared an unexpected announcement on X.
Netizens were surprised to see the update about Ryanair flight FR655, scheduled to depart from Prestwick Airport to Málaga, Spain, at 7 a.m.
The update said the flight would be taking off from Glasgow Airport instead of Prestwick Airport due to adverse weather.
The switch was no minor change of venue.
Glasgow Airport and Prestwick Airport are separate airports that are roughly 31 miles or 50 kilometers apart by road, meaning passengers could face close to an hour of additional travel just to reach their new departure point, assuming they had already reached Prestwick Airport and then discovered the update.
The tweet sparked disbelief among readers as it was posted about one or two hours before the take-off time.
Readers who saw the tweet wondered how passengers would make the unexpected road trip
Netizens who saw the tweet on Prestwick Airport’s timeline assumed the airport didn’t give passengers enough time to reach Glasgow Airport.
They wondered how fliers would make the unexpected road trip after the absurdly short warning.
“So, people would be at Prestwick at 04:54 & they expected people to get out of the airport & arrange a transfer to Glasgow and go through security & passport control in time to catch a 07:00 flight? Ffs,” one said.
However, it is unclear whether the passengers received earlier updates through another medium.
“Is this the most egregious airport gate change in history?” one asked, while another said, “Diabolical notice for passengers.”
“A 7 a.m. Ryanair flight sending everyone to a different airport is a side quest nobody accepted,” wrote another. “Hope they got there before the gate closed.”
One said, “We need an update from someone that was booked on that flight.”
“Surely illegal to do this,” one commented online
Few people who claimed they had booked a ticket on the flight shared updates online.
One person claimed the departure was “moved” to Glasgow Airport at around 2 a.m., five hours before the scheduled take-off from Prestwick Airport.
It is unclear how passengers were first notified about the modified departure location.
“I was on it, flight was moved at 2 a.m., and then the crew weren’t there at 7 a.m. to get us on the plane. Storm picked up and delayed 7 hours,” one said.
“Took off about 2ish,” wrote another. “Imagine moving airport then delayed for nearly 7 hours.”
Passengers claimed the flight was delayed by around 7 hours
Informed “2 hours before the flight? They surely should’ve organized a bus to collect all the passengers from Prestwick to Glasgow?” wrote another comment. “Then there was still a 7-hour delay after that? What a nightmare.”
Ryanair flight FR655 from Prestwick to Málaga normally has an average flight time of 3 hours and 15 minutes, covering a distance of approximately 1,302 miles or 2,096 kilometers.
It was reported that approximately 90% of flights arrive on time on this route, while the average delay is 67 minutes.
Regarding whether passengers were entitled to compensation, one flight data tracking website claimed that one could be entitled to as much as €600/$700 in compensation if their FR655 flight is delayed or canceled.
“Airport musical chairs at 7 a.m., followed by a seven-hour delay? Brutal,” one commented online
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