UK-Bound Ryanair Passengers Diverted Twice In 8-Hour Ordeal, Only To Land Back In Spain

Passengers onboard a recent Ryanair flight from Ireland to the United Kingdom ended up more than 1,000 miles away in Spain after two diversions caused by adverse weather. The incident began when the aircraft departed Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) for Cornwall Newquay Airport (NQY), but the weather forced it to divert to Dublin Airport (DUB).

It later departed Dublin for Bristol International Airport (BRS) on Saturday, October 24, but was again diverted by severe weather. As reported by AirLive, the flight crew aborted the landing attempt at the English airport. After entering a holding pattern over the English Channel, the crew ultimately diverted to Alicante, the aircraft's original departure point, landing around eight hours after it first took off.

A Ryanair Flight From Dublin To Bristol Was Diverted To Spain

Having already diverted from Newquay to Dublin due to the weather, the Ryanair jet planned to land in Bristol before transporting passengers to Newquay by bus. Shortly after departing from Dublin, the flight reached its cruising altitude of 27,000 feet as it headed towards Bristol. After being advised of challenging weather conditions, the crew abandoned its approach before descending below 20,000 feet, sending the aircraft into a holding pattern.

The jet climbed back up to a higher altitude and headed south to evaluate its next steps. It considered a number of diversion options to various regional airports. After making a U-turn while assessing operational viability elsewhere in the United Kingdom, persistent weather conditions resulted in the decision to head to Spain instead.

Ryanair flight 2955 eventually touched down in Alicante at 2:15 AM local time, more than 910 miles (1,465 km) from the flight's intended destination. In all, passengers spent around eight hours in the air and were put through two diversions.

Why Did Ryanair Decide To Divert All The Way To Spain?

One could question why the budget airline decided to divert so far away from its initial origin or destination. The real story comes from the aircraft's home base. Alicante was the aircraft's home base, meaning the diversion offered an operational advantage beyond simply finding a suitable airport to land.

The Boeing 737-800 had a delayed departure from Alicante that evening. It had flown from Alicante to Newquay, but adverse weather forced it to divert to Dublin, leaving the aircraft, passengers and crew away from their intended destinations. The diversion returned the aircraft to its home base ahead of the following day's schedule.

While the diversion was ultimately inconvenient for the passengers on the flight, flying back to Alicante meant the aircraft was able to return to its home base that evening. This minimized ongoing disruption for all the flights that airframe was scheduled to operate the following day.

Aircraft Involved: 9H-QDK

The jet at the centre of the incident is that of Ryanair aircraft 9H-QDK. Delivered in November 2016, the aircraft is almost ten years of age and has operated under both the Ryanair and Malta Air air operator certificates. Configured in the standard all-economy class layout, the plane can accommodate up to 189 seats. Full details of the aircraft are in the table below, with information from ch-aviation:

Delivered to Ryanair on November 28, 2016, after taking its first test flight on November 18, the plane has otherwise operated for the low-cost carrier and its subsidiaries ever since. The jet initially operated under the Irish registration EI-FTJ, before being transferred to Malta Air on March 17, 2020, where it was assigned 9H-QDK.