Passengers Left on Sweltering Plane for Hours

It was 101.7 degrees in Cambridge, England last week, a one-day national record.

National records were also set in Begijnendijk, Belgium, at 107.2; Gilze-Rijen, Netherlands, at 105.3 degrees; and Lingen, Germany, where it rose to 108.7 degrees on one day last week.

And in Paris? A record 110 degrees.

But nowhere was it hotter—physically, emotionally and mentally—than on an Aer Lingus plane that sat on a tarmac in Lyon, France, for hours with no air conditioning before the flight was finally canceled.

Passengers flying to Dublin suffered that fate on July 23 according to the July 28 edition of Dublin Live.

Passengers—including several children and seniors—spent more than three hours on the tarmac due to what the airline described as a technical problem. The pilot initially said he was trying to restart the engines, but passengers were eventually told to exit the aircraft, and the flight was canceled.

One passenger told Dublin Live: “Aer Lingus must be ashamed of the way they treated their customers on the Lyon-Dublin flight. They left 200 passengers in a plane without air conditioning and during a heatwave with babies and seniors are on board.”

Aer Lingus put passengers up in a hotel with a rescheduled flight for the next morning, but even that was canceled.

A spokeswoman for Aer Lingus told Dublin Live: “Aer Lingus flight EI553 operating Lyon-Dublin on 23 July was canceled due to a technical issue with the aircraft. Guests remained on board while our team on the ground carried out the necessary maintenance checks. Regrettably the aircraft was deemed unserviceable and the flight was canceled as a result. Guests were provided with meal vouchers and overnight accommodation as required.

“Our Guest Relations team have been re-accommodating those impacted on the next available flights within our European network and our partner airlines. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”

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