Hundreds of passengers travelling with budget airline Ryanair were delayed in Spain after four of its aircraft were struck by lightning, the company said today.
Passengers due to leave Santander in Spain yesterday were forced stay on the ground overnight, and others due to depart this morning were also delayed.
A flight to Rome Ciampino and another to London Stansted, both out of Santander, were cancelled because aircraft required inspection and repair. A flight to Frankfurt Hahn departured after a six-hour hour delay.
Ryanair the four aircraft were struck by lightning on approach to Santander airport yesterday. Three landed in Santander, but one diverted to Valladolid.
"The safety of our passengers and aircraft was our number one priority at all times in this case," a company spokeswoman said.
A passenger on one of the flights, Michael Harrington (60), said: "We were first told that the delay was due to a lightning strike on the plane that had flown in to take us back, but today we have been informed the delay is due to 'operational problems at the company'.
"We got on board only to be told that the plane had been hit by lightning on the way out and had to be checked. We later heard that Ryanair's Santander-Frankfurt and Santander-Rome flights had also been delayed due to lightning strikes.
"It was all a bit strange as no other airline seemed to have suffered from lightning strikes, and later we were told there had been a technical fault."
Additional reporting PA