Ryanair accused of jeopardising passenger safety

A Spanish consumer organisation has accused Ryanair of “jeopardising passenger safety” and called on the director of civil aviation to investigate the circumstances which led to three Ryanair flights issuing mayday calls at Valencia airport.

The mayday calls were all issued as the individual pilots believed that passengers were “threatened by serious danger” because the aircraft, which were in a holding pattern waiting to land, only had enough fuel onboard to fly for another 30 minutes.

Under international aviation rules, a pilot must make an emergency landing if he only has enough fuel on board to fly for 30 minutes or 300 miles.