Ryanair flight from Dublin to Bristol lands almost 1,000 miles away in Spain

Passengers expecting a short hop across the Irish Sea found themselves touching down in Alicante in the early hours of Sunday

A Ryanair flight from Dublin to Bristol ended up in Alicante, nearly 1,000 miles from its intended destination, after severe weather made a landing in the UK impossible.

Flight FR2955 left Dublin Airport shortly after 10pm on Saturday October 24, carrying UK nationals returning home to Bristol. The Boeing 737-800, registered 9H-QDK, climbed to its cruising altitude of 27,000 feet before beginning its descent.

As it approached Bristol, the crew abandoned the landing because of dangerous wind gusts and poor conditions on the ground. The aircraft climbed again and flew south while alternatives across UK airports were considered.

With severe weather continuing at UK hubs, Ryanair routed the plane to Alicante-Elche Airport, its original base.

It landed safely on runway 10 at Alicante at 2.15am local time on Sunday, almost three hours after leaving Dublin on a route that normally takes less than an hour.

A night of diversions

The unusual journey began earlier that day, when the same aircraft operated flight FR2954 from Alicante to Newquay.

It left Spain nearly an hour late, at 6.25pm CEST, but met storm gusts of more than 40 knots as it approached Cornwall. The crew was unable to begin an approach and circled at 25,000 feet before diverting to Dublin.

That left the aircraft in the wrong country, with UK passengers stranded in Dublin. Ryanair attempted the short onward flight to Bristol to bring them home, but Bristol also became unviable because of the ongoing storm system.

Returning the plane to Alicante was judged the safest and most practical operational solution, allowing Ryanair to recover its aircraft positioning for the following day’s schedule.

Passengers therefore faced an unexpected overnight journey to southern Spain rather than a short flight across the Irish Sea. The aircraft landed safely, back where it had started the day.

Image: Simone Muzzi/Unsplash