I can appreciate that travel can be stressful at times, and that many airlines could do a better job communicating with passengers. However, I can never quite figure out what possesses a passenger to do something like this.
A Facebook user shared a video of a guy who grew tired of the delays on a Ryanair flight from London to Malaga, and decided to pop open the emergency exit and deplane that way. Here’s what the Facebook user wrote, translated using Google Translate:
Yesterday Monday, January 1st, after leaving London an hour late, arrive at Málaga and being left 30 more minutes on the plane (without any explanation from Ryanair)…. this gentleman decided that he wasn’t going to wait any more, activated the emergency door and ready… he got out from the wing… Surreal!!
Here’s the video:
https://www.facebook.com/fernando.delvallevillalobos/videos/10211173682125467/
As you can see, the guy doesn’t actually end up jumping down. People often underestimate the distance between the ground and the wing, though I’ve never seen anything quite like this, where the guy just sort of sits there.
The way I see it, there are two most likely scenarios. Either the guy had never been on a plane before, or he was just being an impatient idiot (or both?). Assuming he had never been on a plane before, then you’d think he’d follow the lead of others, rather than doing something like this. I doubt that was the case, though. Instead, I assume he was being an idiot, which I also can’t understand. Do people think airlines are just going to be fine with this behavior, that they won’t get in serious trouble, and that it will actually get them to the gate any sooner? Yes, I realize people aren’t acting rationally at that point, but goodness.
On the plus side, at least he didn’t get off the plane through a door with an emergency slide, which would have been much more costly for the airline. At least that might have gotten him off the plane, though, rather than just onto the wing.
Update: Initially I only saw the Facebook post, though the Daily Mail reports that the passenger was allegedly having an asthma attack, and the crew refused to do anything to help. I’m still not sure this was the best way to handle that, but at least it would provide a more reasonable explanation of why this unfolded the way it did.
(Tip of the hat to Andy’s Travel Blog)
@anne k. I have asthma !! I doubt the entire veracity of his story
As mother of an asthmatic, I can tell you there are a vast number of triggers the least of all are stress! Had he exhausted his medication and inhaler then he might have been in extreme panic! Having alerted staff and receiving no response I can tell you his going out that door does not surprise me, sorry. My daughter has wound up in the ICU on life support on three separate occasions with absolutely...
As mother of an asthmatic, I can tell you there are a vast number of triggers the least of all are stress! Had he exhausted his medication and inhaler then he might have been in extreme panic! Having alerted staff and receiving no response I can tell you his going out that door does not surprise me, sorry. My daughter has wound up in the ICU on life support on three separate occasions with absolutely no advanced warning! (She is an adult, not a child)
So before you judge, walk a mile in that man's shoes! He gets a pass in my book!
So all you armchair medics.......
... to add his actions would lead to a further delay , possible cancellation, disruption for everyone else. He’s been arrested and hopefully more than likely banned by Ryanair.
There should be a global register where info can be shared and idiots like this can be banned from flying any airline
If he was having asthma attack the crew would notify the authorities in order to obtain the emergency services
Cabin crew have some but limited training. They are not able to deal with every single medical emergency. It’s not a hospital
It is however , most likely he was impatient and stressed and this brought on an asthma episode.
Play the medical , disabled or race card and the masses ( aka...
If he was having asthma attack the crew would notify the authorities in order to obtain the emergency services
Cabin crew have some but limited training. They are not able to deal with every single medical emergency. It’s not a hospital
It is however , most likely he was impatient and stressed and this brought on an asthma episode.
Play the medical , disabled or race card and the masses ( aka “daily mail” readers and rag that will write travel related stories without verifying facts ) will assume the airline is wrong
Jimmy and Chris
I hear what you say but agree with Alex' point, Not everyone wants to travel like that and for those of us who fly constantly but always need to book at the last moment Ryanair is not a 20 Euro price. If I have to pay a lot more its better to use full service airlines which have lounges, points and where you can 'wheel and deal' into the front cabin...
Jimmy and Chris
I hear what you say but agree with Alex' point, Not everyone wants to travel like that and for those of us who fly constantly but always need to book at the last moment Ryanair is not a 20 Euro price. If I have to pay a lot more its better to use full service airlines which have lounges, points and where you can 'wheel and deal' into the front cabin with points upgrades and other manoeuvres and deals we can learn from Lucky without completely breaking the bank. And really if someone is flying for £9.99 or £19.99 it not the horrid airline being nice or doing us a favour, at that price point its a loss leader...it just means they are just going to mug the people who can't book early. And frankly although they have a good safety record so far apart from landing at the odd wrong airport and on the odd taxiway instead of a runway I am terrified to get on jam packed aircraft where the pilots are under huge time performance pressure from management and where someone who is making important decisions maybe doesn't have that many hours experience may be put under pressure. If you read the working conditions and contracts they are not pretty and I fear that one day something will go badly, badly wrong. I prefer to pay more and feel safer.
For short hops, Ryanair is perfectly fine. I also flew with them 10+ times last year. People here dissing Ryanair seem like never have flown with them. The difference in service and comfort to a so-called full service carrier like BA is small (and getting smaller) and is more than made up by the much cheaper ticket. Unless you are not paying for your own ticket of course and are happy to let your employer pay for the 500 euro bagel you get served on board.
@Hugo it's very difficult because they open inwards, the cabin is pressurised and the outside air isn't. I think we had an article middle of last year about someone trying to do that mid-flight. There are most likely more on-point answers there, but I seem to remember something like a full ton-worth of pressure.
@Jimmy, whilst I understand your point, this blog is followed by people who enjoy travel, and mostly in comfortable conditions. Ryanair...
@Hugo it's very difficult because they open inwards, the cabin is pressurised and the outside air isn't. I think we had an article middle of last year about someone trying to do that mid-flight. There are most likely more on-point answers there, but I seem to remember something like a full ton-worth of pressure.
@Jimmy, whilst I understand your point, this blog is followed by people who enjoy travel, and mostly in comfortable conditions. Ryanair is probably the European airline which is furthest away from that definition.
@Rogern I happen to fly Ryanair quite often. Last year I had taken around 10-15 of their flights and I *never* paid more than 20€ per leg, usually it was under 10€. Horrible as it can be, such price can work miracles, at least for me.
Question to the experts: how easy is it to open an emergency door? I suppose inflight not possible...
VE, you cannot sue an airline merely for not giving you as much information as you think you deserve. The pilots may have been very busy with whatever the problem was.
It is a courtesy to keep you informed, not an obligation, and planes sometimes spend hours on a runway if things go pear-shaped.
Knowing Ryanair, he probably didn't pay extra to use the stairs....
If I ever had the misfortune to find myself on a Ryanair flight I would want to throw myself off from 40,000 feet not just on the ground! Ryanair disproves the old saying about '100,000 flies can't be wrong'. I remain totally mystified why people go back again and again but maybe there are more masochists out than we think.
He might be punished for security breach, but even more Ryanair should be sued for not giving any information and mistreatening ill passenger (provided that his asthma attack was true). While it seems weird, I saw already two fatal cases of severe asthma in my circle.
Last thing a heard he had an asthma attack while they had been sitting on tarmac for over 30 min.
Maybe the guy wanted the best runway view possible?
Daily Mail suggests that this man had an asthma attack.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5229605/Ryanair-passenger-jumps-emergency-exit-WING.html