Ryanair faces inquiry as toilets on aircraft were used as seats
 

Low-cost airline Ryanair faces an investigation after flying from Girona in Spain to London's Stansted airport earlier this week with people seated in the aircraft's toilets.

The airline, which was reported to the regulator following the incident, has acknowledged that the flight was overcrowded and that it should not have happened.

The Irish Aviation Authority, which regulates the behaviour of all Irish-registered aircraft regardless of where in the world they are flying, confirmed last night that it had received a complaint from a passenger on the flight and had initiated an investigation.

The authority has contacted the airline but was unable to say whether it had yet received a formal response. A spokeswoman said the investigation was focusing on safety issues rather than any concern about security.

Ryanair said the incident occurred because too many off-duty staff were allowed on board. A spokesman for the airline said it was seeking explanations from the flight crew and ground staff at Girona airport. Ground operations at Girona are handled for Ryanair by Lesma Handling.

Oh dear oh dear - I wonder how much MOL charged for them seats :suspect:

I guess Iberia will be worried too! Or maybe they don´t get too worked up about such things in Spain?

On a very busy 757 service from Heathrow a few years back, I once saw 7 (yes, SEVEN) additional passengers boarding a flight to TLV with no seats. They were accommodated on the flight deck for take off and landing, and whilst in-flight were told to "go somewhere else" ! These again were staff trying to get home.

Now I think we are drifting into the realms of fantasy! According to my clacs, that now makes nine on the flight deck? Good Flight deck the 757........but that good?

Roof-racks on order!!!!!!!:E :uhoh:

rgds K.I.L.

There will be plenty of room in the holds of FR a/c soon.......:\

I suppose they were the bog-standard seats!!

No wonder they are nicknamed UrineAir

Now dere's an oidea, to be sure.

"Why don't we take the lavatories out and just use a bucket for the women and a funnel on a tube for the men. Should be able to get some people on board that way......."

No doubt the stampede for RyanAir's seats will now take on a new urgency..."Quick with the boarding now, else you'll be sitting in the bog".

Not a new phenomenon. Whilst operating a contract for an airline of one of our near continental neighbours, I was asked by the ramp agent if he could put two passengers in the toilets. I declined.

Funny as it may be to everyone, this practice is actually disgusting, dangerous and entirely illegal. There are no seat belts in toilets. I know that there is oxygen mask provision, but I can't understand why this is being taken so lightly.

Ryanair should be hammered for this. It is a gross breach of all international safety regulations and something akin to beahviour that existed in remote parts of Africa twenty years ago.

I really, really, really hope that all involved in this incident (captains, ground staff and other crew who permitted it) have the book thrown at them. Same for MOL.

Get a grip man - what type of comedy operation are you running? This is the lowest of the low.

It is a gross breach of all international safety regulations and something akin to beahviour that existed in remote parts of Africa twenty years ago.

...Yep, that just about sums the FR operation up...

PHX

p.s. never used to be a fan of "FR bashing", but they just make it so easy these days...

I am neither one for bashing anyone unless its totally deserved. But I just cant believe this particular one. I must personally say that if I were a passenger on a FR flight (or any for that matter) and had I witnessed this prior to take off, I would have refused to allow the aircraft to depart by refusing to take my seat. I would insist on the police being called to the aircraft.

It really gets me going, this crap outfit. And MOL gets away with these things time and time again. What a totally and utter crap comedy company.

Aviaco

Whoa whoa - you'd probably be arrested on "security" grounds, for kicking up a fuss.

yes AVIACO but then you'd have been offloaded and the bloke in the toilet would've taken your seat!:p

I have a colleague who've been paxing once on a major european airline from LAX to Europe in the toilet after being unable for a few days in row to get a seat (she was holding space available ID75 ticket).

Link to source
 

Does anyone have a link to the media where this article was published?

Just remember that it was the staff pax that occupied the toilet seats and not fare paying pax. To me, that makes a big difference. I remember the days when Spanish companies, with whom we had very good relations, often accommodated up to five, yes FIVE ID00N2 ATCOs, spouses and kids on the flightdeck of their DC-8s. Now those were the GOOD OL DAYS! :ok:

How about this one...

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/fro...M1RYANAIR.html

PHX

well...for the price you pay...what do you expect!!

Used to be quite common (staff pax) on a certain sen based operator in the eighties:hmm:

I think the point with the whole thread is that we all KNOW it goes on but this time Ryanair got caught...

PHX

AVMAN
It matters not that they were staff pax. ALL pax are required by law to wear a seatbelt for taxi,take-off and landing. :ok:

Packing 'em in
 

Back in the 80s, B 707, Athens to Lod, still on the ground, I remember finding two people in one toilet and quite a few scattered about the aircraft hiding under seats in the hope of avoiding discovery. They were ordered off of course after much arguing and threats etc, but the agents got their own back. They jammed our forward cargo door in such a way that it broke the tracks when the ground staff finally managed to open it.

Surprised, really am, to find out this sort of thing still happens.

Well of course ye won't mind riding in the crapper. Now, about those landing charges - I think you'd better make them account. Ah, ye will, ye will, ye will, ye will, ye will....FR=Father Ted Airlines!

OK, lads , exactly which legal regulation does it break ? or does it ?

[ before we get any more "bogged" down ]

Toilets used as seats? Better that than the other way around.

DISTANT RUMBLE
Please see my post re. your question! if i'm wrong....then I'M in the poo!:\

sure it wont be long before MOL will have us standing hold straps on the short hops. "you get what you pay for and its in the terms and conditions"

The Captain on said flight has just resigned, and two of the cabin crew have been dismissed following an internal investigation.

FreeSpeed,

If what you have said is accurate, then I have absolutely no sympathy on this occasion. The Captain was a complete fool for allowing this to happen.

Despite all of the comments, laughs and sniggers from you guys above who seem to be taking this lightly, tell me this.

What would have been the outcome if - God forbid - there had been an incident, accident or emergency on said flight, and some poor souls are trying to get out of toilets amid panic, and their presence and requirement to fling open toilet doors which should otherwise have been secured, hinders the safe evacuation (maybe in thick smoke, darkness or whatever) of other passengers. What if the aircraft had been in a Mayday situation that resulted in the loss of life, and it then became public knowledge that there had been passengers carried illegally on the flight with no seatbelts or flotation devices or whatever.

There would be a public outcry.

Sorry to rant on about this, but MOL needs to have his head examined. The Captain signed his own fate the very second the permitted the "additional" pax to travel.

The fact that they were off duty staff is totally irrelevant. The Captain's decision to permit the carriage of these extra people created a safety hazard that could have endangered the lives of other people.

End of story.

Sackings & resignations confirmed on RTE

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0723/ryanair.html

Hey guys!

Can you please explain one thing?
Why the hell do some of you accuse MOL for this incident?
I think it is just your personal opinion about Ryanair that makes your arguments unobjective... this seems to be very common here (reminds me of a level compared to the british newspaper 'The Sun').
It was the (definetely wrong) decision of the captain and the cabin crew tolerated it, I don't think that they called MOL and asked him if it would be ok.

Please be a little bit more objective, even when Ryanair is involved.

BS

He is ultimately responsible for everything that occurs within his organisation, and it is him who must ensure that his management team is adequately qualified and trained to ensure that his operation is fully compliant in all aspects of law, health and safety etc.

If you read the company registration, at the point where the organisation is ultimately awarded its air operating licence, it is the managements undertaking to ensure that this compliance is continued and followed in all aspects of its operations governed by the issued AOC.

By the way, I actually quite like MOL and used to like FR. Not now. Just imagine if it was your wife and kids who were on that airplane and trying to get out of it in an emergency when their exit is hindered by people who have no legal right to have been where they were. Would you still be taking the same stance in admonishing MOL from any responsibility?

The senior management of the company MUST take the blame for allowing a culture to exist where incidents like this are allowed to happen.

Will be interesting to see what the CAA will have to say about it? probably nothing.

what were the crew thinking about?

I despair at this action by the operating crew to allow the positioning crew to sit in the toilets.

Why did they think this was O.K.?

You can do without that nonsense going on. This is a professional airline (despite what some of you might think ) and although the passengers my view the operation as a glorified bus service, the staff traveling on there privilage should be well aware that it is not. Get a grip !!!

Spot on BrownStar! Totally spot on.

RYAN AIR LOO SEAT
 

Now that is real LOW COAT Mike!

Brownstar,

Not quite true...FR is an airline largely staffed and crewed by professional people but sadly run by idiots...The fact that MOL is still in charge is incredible in itself, I accept that he has created a very successful airline, but you CAN become a victim of your own success. I don't "FR bash" because MOL is successful, I feel that he is dragging a once proud industry to it's knees and it's only a matter of time before he trips himself up...

PHX

Phoenix, I also have to say that I agree with you too, as well as Brown Star.

I just can't get over this thing - this incident unfortunately belittles and makes mockery of all you guys out there who are true professionals working for FR and other carriers, and who would NEVER dream of doing such a stupid thing!

I find this incident really incredible and again feel that the company and MOL IN PARTICULAR were incerdibly lucky that there was not an emergency of any kind on the flight in question.

That would have been the end of FR.

The travelling public will not tolerate a cowboy company who endangers human life just by making shortcuts like this one and check-in desks would have been empty at FR and other LCC's who's images would have been tarnished by this stupidity.

I have family (incl small children) who have - in the past - flown on FR without me, and I really dread to think that they could have been exposed to such risks by a company who seem quite willing to break the law.

...it would seem a tad unfortunate that the Capt. should lose his job as a result of doing an illegal favour for stranded staff. (as was said in an earlier post... some airlines have being doing this for staff travellers for many years.. albeit in the jumpseat rather than the toilet!)

I'm wondering how the passenger who made the complaint came to notice this situation... perhaps the off-duty staff being carried on the flight did not behave in a discreet manner? (ie - refused to allow the lavatory to be used during the flight etc..?).