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, writes Dominic Coyle
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.
"Ryanair does not overbook its flights," a spokesman said. "We are taking it very seriously and it is the subject of an internal investigation." It is understood that the passengers seated on the toilets for the duration of the flight were Ryanair staff. Other staff not on duty on the particular flight were sitting in jump-seats in the passenger cabin.
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.
The news emerged as Ryanair yesterday escalated its clash with the British Airports Authority (BAA) over services at Stansted. The airline filed suit in the London High Court accusing the airport owner of abusing a monopoly situation by continuing to charge it a £5 million fuel levy each year to fund a fuel hydrant system the airline claims is long paid for. The BAA has said it intends suing the Irish airline for over £1 million that Ryanair has withheld in increased passenger charges and the fuel levy.
Ryanair has also announced a $240 million expansion of its base at Luton airport, run by rival airport operator TBI, with the investment in four new Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
However, it said it was halving its daily service from Stansted to Derry from October, and warned it may have to pull out of Derry airport altogether because its runway cannot handle the larger planes Ryanair is acquiring. The president of Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Éamonn Stephenson, said any reduction in Ryanair services to the north-west would be a serious blow for business and tourism in the region.