Ryanair passengers due on a flight set to travel from Lisbon to Dublin on Saturday that was then cancelled were told the next flight was not until Wednesday and they should make their own arrangements for travel.
The 10am flight was waiting on the tarmac and 140 people were due to board when they were told the flight was being cancelled.
Ryanair said this was because of a strike by security staff at Lisbon Airport.
However, passengers said other aircraft were able to get away from the Portuguese capital despite the strike.
‘Complete mayhem’
Passenger Marijn Kamperman said they were not given any explanation for the cancellation and that it was “complete mayhem” in the airport.
"Without any other explanation we were sent back to the Arrivals. No clue where our luggage was and what the next steps would be. Ryanair literally refused to give me answers when I called customer service," he told The Irish Times.
“They claimed that I was late and missed the plane as the plane had departed. After my fourth call with Ryanair I still didn’t know anything, I was told to go to the local ticket desk at Lisbon airport. The queue there was gigantic.
“Ryanair showed once again what an unprofessional and incompetent organisation it is.”
‘Absolute joke’
A passenger, Hannah Rogers, tweeted: "@Ryanair what an absolute joke. Waiting in Lisbon at bag drop-off. There is only 1 staff member here. Ridiculous wait time."
Another, @dancingbighare, tweeted: “@Ryanair hi we are stuck in Lisbon all 140 of us... There [sic] saying no flight till Wednesday. The plane left us empty and went back to Dublin.”
Eventually a member of the consulate staff from the Irish Embassy came to the airport, and the flight has now been rescheduled for 12.20am on Sunday morning.
A Ryanair statement blamed the strike by security staff for the problem. “Ryanair has now added an extra flight from Lisbon to Dublin tonight and expects all customers delayed by today’s security strike to return on it.
“We sincerely apologise for this disruption, which is entirely beyond our control, and further information will be posted on Ryanair.com.”
