Ryanair cancellation at Alicante leaves passengers stranded for 30 hours after Europe-wide air traffic disruption

Disruption overview

Burnham-On-Sea residents Ryan Mount and Debbie Sinyard were stranded at Alicante Airport after a Europe-wide air traffic control disruption delayed and then canceled their Ryanair flight home on Tuesday night. With hotels full, they spent the night in the terminal and bought replacement easyJet tickets the next morning, finally reaching home around 30 hours later. The disruption also forced them to shut their fish shop for a day. Because air traffic control problems sit outside an airline's control, compensation is usually unlikely under EC 261, but passengers should still be offered rebooking or refunds, food, and overnight care when needed.

Get flight compensation

Check if the airline owes you money for your delayed or canceled flight

Disruption details

Passengers traveling with Ryanair from Alicante Airport were left stranded for around 30 hours this week after a wider air traffic control disruption across Europe turned a delayed flight into a cancellation. Burnham-On-Sea residents Ryan Mount and Debbie Sinyard arrived at 4:00 pm on Tuesday for a flight due to leave at 6:00 pm.

Disruption was already building at London Gatwick, where cancellations were mounting because of the wider air traffic problems. Their Ryanair flight was first delayed and then canceled at about 8:30 pm, leaving hundreds of passengers searching for answers.

For passengers, this meant a long night of uncertainty. Mount said airline staff disappeared after the cancellation, and travelers were told to leave the airport and re-enter through arrivals. That sent people to the back of long lines, with little clear guidance on what would happen next.

With nearby hotels fully booked, the couple stayed inside the terminal overnight. They said they spent about 17 hours on the airport floor, with limited food choices and no available outlets to charge the phones holding their digital boarding passes.

By Wednesday morning, they managed to get seats on easyJet after hearing some remaining Ryanair passengers might not be accommodated until Friday. Even that replacement flight was delayed, stretching the disruption to roughly 30 hours before they landed in the United Kingdom and reached home later that day.

The delay had an immediate effect beyond the airport. Mount and Sinyard run Seafoods fishmongers on Burnham High Street in Somerset, and the disruption forced them to close the shop for a full trading day. Mount had already arranged for fresh fish deliveries on Wednesday, but had to cancel those orders from abroad when it became clear they would miss opening hours. The business reopened on Thursday morning.

They now plan to seek refunds for the replacement easyJet tickets and other airport purchases. After reopening, they apologized to customers and said older travelers and families stranded in Alicante appeared to be facing even tougher conditions.

Mount said the experience has put him off flying for a while, and the couple now plan to keep future mini-breaks within the United Kingdom.

The journey was caught up in the wider air traffic control failure that disrupted flights across Europe earlier in the week. Although the technical issue has since been resolved, knock-on delays and cancellations continued for several days as airlines worked through the backlog.

If your flight is disrupted in a situation like this, your airline should still help with:

• A choice between rerouting and a refund if your flight is canceled.

• Food and refreshments during a long wait.

• Accommodation and transportation if you're stranded overnight away from home.

• Ways to communicate, such as phone calls or emails, during a prolonged delay.

Because this disruption was caused by air traffic control problems rather than the airline itself, compensation is usually unlikely under EC 261, the air passenger rights rules that cover many flights in Europe.

That doesn't mean you're without support. Airlines still have to provide care and assistance when you're left waiting, and if you'd like to better understand your rights or check whether compensation could still apply, AirHelp's free flight checker is a simple place to start.

Protect your future trips with AirHelp+

Secure your flights, luggage and get lounge access