Will Santa come to the airport?: Hundreds of Aer Lingus passengers stranded in New York

File photo: AP Photo/Olivier Matthys

Aer Lingus has sincerely apologised to hundreds of passengers on a Dublin-bound flight from New York which turned back to JFK this morning.

Flight EI106 was forced to turn back for safety reasons after a technical issue with the aircraft.

Kathyrn, from Ballymore in County Leitrim, was flying home from Queens for her first Irish holiday since the pandemic when she heard five or six loud bangs in rapid succession.

"There were flames coming out of the turbine just underneath the wing. With each bang there were flames and sparks that were going everywhere," she said. "It was very clear that that was not supposed to be happening."

A number of concerned passengers have taken to Twitter and Facebook to complain saying they are not getting adequate updates on what is happening.

Republic of Ireland footballer Jamie Finn was on board the flight and said that when the loud bangs happened everyone was in shock. 

The captain came on the intercom and told passengers that there was a problem but they would do their best to get everyone landed safely.

"That kind of settled it a bit but obviously it was nerve-wracking and I was pretty nervous."

Ms Finn said that since landing they have been left stranded in JFK. 

"We have no idea what is going on. I know Aer Lingus said that they have gotten in contact by ringing people which they haven't," said Ms Finn.

"I have gotten my parents to ring Aer Lingus at home to see what the story is. They are saying we could possibly get on a flight, maybe on the 27th which is not ideal.

There were young kids on that flight and they were pretty upset asking will Santy come to the airport."

The Birmingham City footballer said that some people were told the possibility of a recovery flight was being explored but the airline said on Twitter that this had been incorrectly advised and apologised for the resulting confusion.

Passenger Trisha Daly commended the crew on the flight for safely returning the aircraft after "a very scary time" but criticised the airline for its handling of the situation afterwards.

"On the ground with zero communication as to what next, given false hope of a recovery flight, crazy rebooking options," said Ms Daly.

In a statement, Aer Lingus said that team are working to re-accommodate all passengers with alternative flight arrangements and are endeavouring to have all customers depart New York by tomorrow evening.

"The majority of passengers have had their alternative flight arrangements confirmed to them and we are working through the remainder to ensure everyone has certainty on re-accommodation arrangements," a spokesperson said.

"We are also working to book hotel accommodation for those customers who need to stay overnight before they depart.

"We sincerely apologise for this disruption to customers’ Christmas travel plans and we aim to have them arrive at their destination as soon as possible."