Airline Passengers Forced To Pay For Water During 6-Hour Flight Delay

A Wednesday flight from London’s Stansted Airport to Berlin Schönefeld was delayed more than six hours as Ryanair passengers claim they were forced to purchase water or other essentials from onboard the airline.

Emily Morris, 24 and her fiance Tom Jones, 27, say they paid ($240) £180 for Flight FR145 from Stansted to Berlin, but Ryanair incrementally delayed the flight from its original 7:50 a.m. departure to their actual takeoff around 2:15 p.m. The BBC reports that during the long on-board wait at Stansted Airport, bad weather kept around 300 passengers cramped and stranded in the terminal.

Ryanair responded that it regretted being forced to cancel a "small number of flights" because of "snow-related runway closures".

Morris, a geography teacher, told the Cambridge News that everyone on-board the plane “started asking questions,” but the airline’s de-ice process and other delays continued one after another. Hostesses and staff told passengers that giving them basic food and drink necessities was not a possibility without payment.

"I asked if we could have some water because we'd been there for ages, but I was told we couldn't have anything, and we couldn't get off the plane either,” said Morris. "One of the air hostesses said if they gave us anything it would come out of their own wages. We couldn't have anything unless we paid for it."

Morris called the event an “absolute nightmare” and wished Ryanair had the “decency” to at least offer their customers free water. She said cabin crew were happy to offer food and water for payment simply so they couldn’t say they had no supplies on the airplane.

In a statement to Sun Online, Ryanair responded to the refreshment fiasco.

"This flight from London Stansted to Berlin (27 Dec) was delayed ahead of take-off due to snow at Stansted. To minimise delay, customers remained on board, while awaiting ATC clearance to depart, and the crew opened the bars and served refreshments, before the aircraft departed to Berlin.

"All affected customers were contacted by email and SMS text message and advised of their rebooking options," Ryanair officials said in a statement. "We sincerely apologize to all customers affected by these weather cancellations and disruptions, which are entirely beyond our control."

Easyjet passengers in the same airport were given the option of transferring their flight free of charge or receiving a refund.