More than 100 passengers flying from Bordeaux, France to London were left stranded after being kicked off a flight—all because an airline had an unpaid bill.
French civil aviation authorities grounded a Ryanair flight last week as a last-ditch effort to get the Irish low-cost carrier to pay its hefty $610,000 bill for regional subsides that were accrued during 2008 and 2009. While an obvious pain for the airline, it was a complete disaster for the 149 passengers that had to be reassigned flights to the U.K.
“It is unfortunate that the state had to take such action, which led to the inevitable inconvenience of the 149 passengers on board the immobilised plane,” a spokesperson for the French civil aviation authority said. “Those passengers were able to eventually reach their destination later that evening on another Ryanair plane, but with a five-hour delay.”
According to The Guardian, Ryanair benefitted from illegal subsidies that gave the airline an unfair advantage. The European Commission, in its decision to declare the subsidies illegal, fined the airline €1 million ($1.1 million). Up until last week, Ryanair had only paid half of it.
The French authorities threatened to keep the plane impounded until a full payment was made. Ryanair paid the remaining €525,000 ($610,000) last Friday.
This is just one of many negative issues the airline has faced recently. Last month it was heavily criticized for not throwing off an unruly passenger who was caught on video hurling racist remarks at his seatmate. It has also dealt with strikes by both pilots and cabin crew members, along with compensation checks for stranded passengers bouncing because they were processed without signatures.
That said, millions of travelers use Ryanair every year due to the airline’s ultra-affordable tickets, even though it rarely offers any frills. Last month Ryanair carried 13.1 million passengers, with the airline reporting an 11-percent rise in traffic.
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