Just been reading this story about the Prestwick passengers stuck on board for 6 hours without food or anything to drink. Somebody somewhere needs to tackle this lot. The US DoT are clamping down on passengers being stuck on aircraft in the US and its time the UK authorities did likewise. I know Ryanair are Irish registered but they are flying UK passengers from UK airports. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be stuck on board a hot aircraft with kids for 6 hours being refused water or the opportunity to go in to the terminal to buy refreshments. Passengers report that there was no aircon either - please dont tell me they were on GPU for the entire 6 hours to save APU fuel burn depriving pax of some bleed air.
I feel for the crew if this is Ryanair policy. My company has strict rules on timings before we can authorise light refreshment vouchers and I know the difficulties in accessing duty free bars before departure but that doesn't mean you do nothing and let conditions worsen to the point where the police are called. Most Captains with any other airline would have the ability to intervene to prevent such a scenario, even if it means using the company credit card to buy bottled water in the terminal for those that need it. In a similar situation recently (3 hours rather than 6 mind you), our passengers were kept fully informed throughout in an air-conditioned cabin with drinks and snacks being bought from the terminal by ground staff. Yes it cost a few quid, but you have a duty of care to look after your passengers, even if it means thinking outside the box. The RSPCA would likely take you to court if you left a dog in a hot car with no air or water for 6 hours, yet Ryanair think you can do the same to passengers - they are dragging this industry in to the toilet.