'It's such a mess': Aer Lingus passengers stranded in New York for three days

Pat Flynn

Aer Lingus passengers left stranded in New York since Saturday are hopeful of being able to return home on Wednesday morning.

The passengers were on board Saturday night’s scheduled Aer Lingus EI-110 flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Shannon when it was cancelled at the last minute. The aircraft left the terminal and was taxiing to the runway for departure when the crew returned to the departure gate.

The flight crew advised air traffic controllers that they had a ‘tech problem’ and needed to ‘return to stand.’ It’s believed that a damaged cockpit window resulted in the Airbus A321neo jet being forced back to the terminal.

The flight, due to arrive in Shannon at 5.40am on Sunday, was subsequently cancelled. As a result, Sunday’s EI-111 flight from Shannon to New York was also cancelled.

As the incident jet remained grounded in New York, Sunday night’s EI-110 flight was also cancelled while Monday’s Shannon to New York service did not operate for a second consecutive day.

After Saturday’s flight was cancelled, passengers were sent to different hotels for the night and advised to wait for email communication confirming when they would fly home.

On Sunday morning, after being told by hotel staff they were only booked in for one night, some passengers returned to the airport to see if there was any update. They were advised they should have stayed in the hotel to await further information.

'Taken for fools'

One passenger said: “We’ve been taken for fools from the very beginning. Aer Lingus have been awful at communicating with us. On Saturday night when we were told our flight was cancelled, the airport was chaotic. When we were looking for information, the only lady working was completely overwhelmed dealing with it all on her own.”

“When we got to the airport we were told we should have stayed at the hotel and there’s no option other than Tuesday. All Shannon and Dublin flights until then were full. So then we were put in a different hotel for Sunday night,” the passenger said.

While passengers spent a second night in hotels, the aircraft they were due to travel on departed for Shannon without many of the passengers from the original flight. Some passengers queried this with Aer Lingus but received no response. They had to spend a third night in New York.

It is understood some passengers were flown to Manchester on Monday where they faced a seven-hour layover before catching another flight to Dublin. A couple from the Midwest were accommodated on a flight to Dublin but had to make their own way to Shannon in the early hours of the morning to collect their car.

“It’s such a mess. We should have been home Sunday morning and back at work on Monday. We’re now missing three extra days of work,” she added.

The passenger confirmed they are scheduled to depart New York on Tuesday night (11.05pm Irish time). The flight is due in Shannon on Wednesday morning at 5.40am.

Aer Lingus has yet to respond to repeated requests for information and comment.