Sweet tooth leaves bitter taste for Aer Lingus passengers

IT had all the hallmarks of a Harry Potter special — the foul-smelling sweets that caused the national airline to divert and inconvenience more than 300 passengers.

After a four-hour hold-up in Dublin because of an impromptu strike by Italian air traffic controllers, Aer Lingus flight EI406 finally took off with 154 passengers on board at 6.20pm on Saturday, instead of the scheduled 2.20pm. To the dismay of the already frazzled travellers, the aircraft was diverted to Gatwick after reports on board of a gassy odour. Engineering experts were summoned on board following their noses in the direction of the offending passenger.

Aer Lingus head of operations Dick Butler later admitted it was “odd smelling sweets” and nothing hazardous or dangerous, that had caused the diversion.

A spokesperson for Aer Lingus was unable to identify the brand of candy that caused the delay, but such was its piquancy that it prompted two security checks. It also kept the plane anchored on the apron for over three hours, finally departing at 11.30pm. Passengers were not permitted to disembark while the gas investigation was underway, but were “looked after with complimentary food and drinks”.

Unfortunately, passengers awaiting the arrival of EI406 in Rome to bring them home had to endure further fallout from Sweetgate. By the time the flight arrived at Da Vinci airport, the crew had reached their maximum number of hours worked within safety limits.

The return leg was cancelled and 156 exhausted passengers given meal vouchers and offered accommodation in Rome. Except there was little accommodation available, a spokesperson for Aer Lingus said.

“It took a number of hours, it was the early hours of the morning, before accommodation became available.” She admitted there had been a lack of communication with passengers.

The flight finally departed Rome yesterday afternoon and arrived back in Dublin after 5pm.

Meanwhile, in Cork Airport, passengers faced long delays yesterday morning because of a breakdown in the baggage handling system. Up to 11 flights were affected on the busiest day of the week and passengers were offered tea, coffee and sandwiches in the nearby Great Southern Hotel as an appeasement.

Passengers complained of Aer Lingus’s lack of proper communication.