Passengers were left seething after they were reportedly “barred” from disembarking a plane in Spain. This followed the diversion of an easyJet flight to Gibraltar due to weather conditions, which ended up in Malaga.
However, after enduring hours on the tarmac, passengers were allegedly informed that only those with Spanish residency could disembark “because of Brexit“. English travellers were told they would remain onboard before being transferred to another aircraft for a return flight to Luton, according to The Mirror.
Jay Pedersen, a passenger on the plane, likened the situation to being ‘held hostage. ‘”It was shambolic. They kept telling us buses were coming in “ten minutes” but they never showed.
“Eventually the cabin crew, who were doing their utmost, announced there would be two groups – those with British passports were to stay onboard and flown back to Luton. It felt like we were being held captive.”
“But surprisingly, quite a few British individuals at the front managed to disembark despite instructions to the contrary.
“It was akin to a polite British ‘mutiny’. Upon reaching passport control our passports were stamped and we were permitted through without any issues whatsoever. I’m astounded at how composed everyone remained.”
On the evening of Monday, October 14, easyJet flight EZY8793 made an unexpected landing in Malaga. Among the passengers was Douglas Atkins, 74, from Solihull, who recounted: “There was only one guy aboard – who must have been a doctor – who raised his voice shouting: ‘I’ve got a patient to see I’m getting off.’ He was one of 30 or so who successfully got to the terminal.”
The aircraft, bound for Gibraltar, had to land in Malaga due to adverse weather conditions.
It had to pull up a mere 900 feet from touchdown in Gibraltar.
Mr Atkins later explained: “The crew were young but doing as well as they could as they were clearly getting instructions from their HQ. No one could understand why we weren’t allowed to get off and be taken by buses to Gibraltar.”
Those passengers who secured exit from the aircraft subsequently splashed out as much as 200 euros for taxis to ferry them on the two-hour drive to Gibraltar.