EasyJet passengers stranded after flight forced to make emergency landing as cabin crew member required ‘urgent medical assistance’
EasyJet passengers were left stranded for hours at Zagreb Airport after their flight from Egypt to Manchester was forced to make an emergency landing when a cabin crew member fell ill.
Louise Mapsie was returning from a five-day stay at an Egyptian resort when the pilot called for urgent medical assistance during the flight.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday morning, saw the flight diverted to Croatia where paramedics were waiting to transport the unwell staff member to hospital.
Passengers were initially told they would receive temporary accommodation while a replacement flight was arranged, but were later left to wait in the closed airport.
“As soon as we got off the plane that was it,” Mapsie told the Manchester Evening News. “The crew stayed on the plane, we got into the airport to realise that it was closed.”
She explained that only two security guards were present, apparently called in specifically for the emergency landing situation.
The passengers were left to rely on updates through the easyJet app, which proved problematic for elderly travellers who didn’t have access to it.
“An hour later we got a text from easyJet saying they aren’t going to give us accommodation and they would let us know when the next available flight is,” Mapsie said.
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According to the 22-year-old passenger, while the cabin crew were taken to a five-star hotel in the city, travellers were left at the airport for over 10 hours in freezing conditions.
She said: “The crew got in their taxi and left, and we just had to sit there. There was nothing open, nowhere to get a drink, babies had gone for almost 20 hours with no milk.
“We were terrified. Landing in a country that most of us had never heard of was scary enough.”
She described how passengers were forced to sleep on the floor and benches, with no facilities available.
“Every five minutes felt like an hour when you were sitting there shivering. At one point we didn’t know if anybody was coming to get us.”
The flight, which originally departed from Hurghada Airport eventually transported passengers back to Manchester around 2pm on Friday.
Mapsie claimed there was no aftercare on the return flight, with passengers being asked to purchase drinks and snacks.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority.
“Our crew were provided with hotel accommodation to comply with regulations and we secured hotel rooms for customers where available.
“Unfortunately, due to limited hotel availability, some customers remained in the airport overnight and so we endeavoured to make them as comfortable as possible by providing refreshments.”
The airline apologised for the difficulties caused, while noting the circumstances were outside their control.