Ryanair flight returns to airport minutes after departure to remove forgotten luggage

A Ryanair flight was forced to do a u-turn just 20 minutes after departure after the crew realised that the luggage from a previous flight had not been removed from the plane.

An investigation has been launched into the Boeing 737-800's return to City of Derry Airport during its scheduled flight to Alicante in Spain on Monday.

Approximately 20 minutes after departure the captain announced to passengers that he was turning the aircraft around because ‘they had forgotten a bag’.

Upon arrival, the baggage was removed and the flight departed for the second time at 7pm.

Ryanair has confirmed that the flight returned, saying a "third party ground handling agent" had failed to remove all the luggage from the previous flight.

"This flight from Derry to Alicante (27 July) returned to Derry shortly after take-off to unload baggage from the previous flight, which the third party ground handling agent had failed to remove before take-off," a spokesperson said.

"The aircraft landed normally, the baggage was removed and the flight departed to Alicante.

"Ryanair apologised to customers affected by this short delay."

A spokeswoman from City of Derry Airport also apologised to passengers and confirmed that an investigation is underway.

Ryanair prides itself on "faster turnaround times" than its competitors, and we agree - 20 minutes is the fastest turnaround time we've heard of!

HT: belfastlive.co.uk