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Ryanair was forced to divert a plane heading to the UK as dangerous winds from Storm Boelo swept across the country.
Flight FR2955 departed Dublin Airport at 10.19pm on Saturday and was originally heading to Newquay Cornwall but diverted to Bristol – a journey that typically takes less than 90 minutes - due to adverse weather conditions.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft reached its cruising altitude of 27,000 feet before initiating its descent towards Bristol Airport.
However, conditions on the ground were reported to be “far from forgiving”, leaving the pilot no choice but to abort the landing attempt.
Flight tracking site AirNav Radar shows that the aircraft then flew almost 1,000 miles away from Bristol, crossing the English Channel, through France and to the south of Spain.
It landed at Alicante-Elche Airport at 1.16am in the morning on Sunday, around three hours after departing from Dublin Airport.
“This flight from Alicante to Newquay Cornwall (24 Oct) diverted to Dublin due to high winds at Newquay Cornwall Airport,” a Ryanair spokesperson told The Independent.
“During this time, passengers remained onboard so the aircraft could depart as soon as a slot became available, however this flight subsequently returned to Alicante due to the adverse weather conditions.
“Passengers booked on this flight received communications via email, PUSH notifications and were also kept up to date by ground staff in Alicante Airport. Affected passengers were advised of their options, provided with overnight accommodation, and reaccommodated onto the next available flight.”
Flight FR2955 was not the only journey to be disrupted by Storm Boleo, which battered the UK with gusts of up to 84 mph over the weekend.On Sunday, dozens of flights were cancelled by Heathrow and Gatwick, the busiest UK airports. This includes:
- British Airways BA1438 to Edinburgh
- British Airways BA304 to Paris CDG
- British Airways BA562 to Rome
- British Airway BA1320 Heathrow to Aberdeen
- LoganAir LM676 Heathrow to Isle of Man
- Riyadh Air RX9402 Heathrow to Gassim
- Emirates EK064 Heathrow to Dubai
- Easyjet EJU8015 Gatwick to Amsterdam
- Easyjet EZU6427 Gatwick to Jersey
- Lufthansa LH901 Gatwick to Frankfurt
- AirFrance AF1681 Gatwick to Paris CDG
- Aer Lingus I157 Gatwick to Dublin.
- Vueling VY7821 Gatwick to Barcelona
On Sunday, major roads in Scotland were shut off following collapsed trees and strong winds, while several sections of its railways were forced to close.
A Met Office amber weather warning for wind remains in place for Scotland much of northern England until 9pm on Monday – having been activated at 9pm on Saturday.Two men have been killed by falling trees and hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power as the storm gained power.
The storm developed just hours after the first named storm of the season – Storm Austen – petered out from the south west.