October 27, 2026 — Passengers on a Ryanair (FR) flight from Spain to Cornwall spent more than eight hours on board on Saturday, diverting twice in storm-force winds before landing back in Alicante in the early hours of Sunday.
What happened
| Time (local) | Event |
|---|---|
| Sat Oct 24, 6:36 p.m. | FR2954 leaves Alicante for Newquay, about an hour late |
| Evening | Storm Austen winds at Newquay; crew holds, then diverts |
| 8:43 p.m. | Lands in Dublin to refuel |
| 10:34 p.m. | Leaves Dublin for Bristol (Newquay’s terminal hours were limited; buses planned for the last leg) |
| Overnight | Poor weather near Bristol; crew diverts again |
| Sun Oct 25, 2:12 a.m. | Lands back in Alicante |
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, registration 9H-QDK, registered in Malta under a Ryanair group subsidiary. One Mile at a Time suspects the plane and crew were based in Alicante, so returning there protected the next day’s flying even though Dublin was closer. Ryanair has to provide essentials such as hotels; whether EU261 cash compensation applies is disputed because of the weather. Ryanair’s own explanation: TBA.
What it means for non-revs
There is no pass-travel angle here, but the story matters to airline people as a textbook case of weather, crew duty limits and aircraft positioning colliding. For anyone traveling to small UK airports this winter, have a backup plan: storm season is here, and airports with limited terminal hours give crews fewer options when they divert.
Sources
- One Mile at a Time — Ouch: Ryanair Passengers Fly 8+ Hours, Only To End Up Where They Started
- Paddle Your Own Kanoo — Ryanair Passengers End Up on a Nine-Hour Flight to Nowhere After High Winds Battered the UK Over the Weekend
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