More than 30 passengers on a Ryanair flight from Dublin were treated for injuries, including bleeding from the ears, after the cabin depressurized and required an emergency landing.
A photo from one of the passengers posted on Twitter showed blood in the oxygen mask that covers a person's nose and mouth.
A picture from one of the passengers of the flight FR7312, from Dublin to Zadar. She cannot fly due her injuries. We are still in the Frankfurt-Hahn. No information, no alternatives, no place to rest. #Ryanair #nightmare @Ryanair https://t.co/zcdNGHS1VF
"We get on the plane. We’re flying, and next, of all the oxygen masks come down. We’re left in darkness for 15 minutes. There’s no reassurance, just people shouting, 'emergency, emergency,'" passenger Sarah McGarry told the Irish Times from the basement of the Frankfurt airport where passengers had stayed after the flight.
"There was a newborn baby and children on the flight. People are screaming, and we don’t know what’s going on for 15 minutes. ... Then finally we’re told that we’re going to Germany," said McGarry.
Another passenger, Miomir Todorovic, posted on Facebook that the plane rapidly descended after the depressurization. "My right ear barely works. What's important is that we survived," he wrote in Bosnian.
!["I saw one woman carried out on the stretchers. Many people, including me, were complaining about ear pain. Some people reported bleeding from ears," wrote Todorovic on Facebook.
He explained that passengers heard a "sudden bang (not very loud) and [the] air became cold." Masks then dropped from the ceiling.
"After I secured my and my girlfriend's mask, I took my cellphone to obtain GPS coordinates," wrote Todorovic. "I was terrified when I saw 8,000 meters [26,000 feet]. That was dive of 3,000 meters [9,800 feet] in less than one minute. Afterward, [the] descent was not that steep, but my ears were [hurting] so much."
He said despite some panic, most people remained calm. "To be honest, Ryanair pilots did [an] excellent job, but it would be much appreciated if they announced that this was a standard procedure in this situations," added Todorovic on Facebook.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
"I saw one woman carried out on the stretchers. Many people, including me, were complaining about ear pain. Some people reported bleeding from ears," wrote Todorovic on Facebook.
He explained that passengers heard a "sudden bang (not very loud) and [the] air became cold." Masks then dropped from the ceiling.
"After I secured my and my girlfriend's mask, I took my cellphone to obtain GPS coordinates," wrote Todorovic. "I was terrified when I saw 8,000 meters [26,000 feet]. That was dive of 3,000 meters [9,800 feet] in less than one minute. Afterward, [the] descent was not that steep, but my ears were [hurting] so much."
He said despite some panic, most people remained calm. "To be honest, Ryanair pilots did [an] excellent job, but it would be much appreciated if they announced that this was a standard procedure in this situations," added Todorovic on Facebook.
One passenger, Minerva Galvan, called the flight "the worst moments" of her life.
The worst moments of whole my life. You are in the air and one moment after you are just falling in the sky, your ears burn, there is no air and your mouth taste like iron. #Ryanair
Video taken by another passenger shows everyone on board wearing the masks, sitting quietly and looking nervous. "It's not fun," a boy tells the camera.
Amazing video from Mr. Kevin Burke. You can see how terrified we were. No-one speaking, no-one moving. Silence and just silence. #Ryanair #nightmare https://t.co/YFYRiORy2s
After the horror flight, passengers of the budget airline were provided with a camp bed in a military base to sleep.
Nightmare Ryanair flight FR7312 on way to Croatia. Emergency landing at Frankfurt. Overnight in military base camp beds- good old Ryanair style customer service. Cutting costs and more profit for Ryanair all at the expense of customer safety. Shame on you Michael O Leary
One person who claimed to be on the flight said Ryanair provided some McDonald's cheeseburgers to delayed guests — but only 100 burgers for 189 passengers.
@NiamhTowey1 100 Mcdonald cheese burgers arrived at 5 in morning for a plane with 189 passengers. Thank you Ryanair. No wonder your people are striking.
The lack of proper accommodation and food left many passengers furious after the scary flight. "Abhorrent treatment for people post trauma," wrote one.
@NiamhTowey1 No accommodation, no food, people laying on floors in a military base, being told we could not leave the base. I have plenty of picture to share , we are still in Frankfurt airport caged after 12 hours over night with no sleep. Abhorrent treatment for people post trauma.
12 hours ago we had an emergency landy from our flight FR7312, from Dublin to Zadar at the airport Frankfurt-Hahn. We lived very scaring moment. We are abandoned at the airport. No bus, no alternatives, no place to rest. We cannot flight! We need help. @Ryanair #Ryanair https://t.co/wmlO4yNJ4v
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Guardian that the flight was diverted due to "in-flight depressurization" and said there was a "shortage of available accommodation."
“In line with standard procedure, the crew deployed oxygen masks and initiated a controlled descent. The aircraft landed normally and customers disembarked, where a small number received medical attention as a precaution.
"Customers were provided with refreshment vouchers and hotel accommodation was authorized, however, there was a shortage of available accommodation.
"Customers will board a replacement aircraft which will depart to Zadar this morning and Ryanair sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience."
Eventually, Ryanair charted a bus to take passengers from Frankfurt to Zadar (roughly an 800-mile drive).
Guys, thank you so much for all the RT and DM. @Ryanair finally sent us a bus. It's big and we have food and drinks. We are still in Germany but we will soon be going to Zadar. We are fine. We are finallyy going to rest https://t.co/uz5P6J6AJR