A Co Down man has described “not being able to breathe” during a Ryanair flight which had to make an emergency landing back in Dublin due to a pressurisation issue.
Conor Curran (27) from Warrenpoint was travelling to Madrid from Dublin this morning on the airline.
He said he briefly closed his eyes only to wake up to an alarm sounding the phrase “emergency descent” repeatedly.
“The flight took off more or less on time and everything was fairly normal. Usual take off procedure and ascent, nothing out of the ordinary at all,” he said.
“I had been reading a book and had just closed my eyes, my girlfriend was asleep beside me, when the oxygen masks suddenly dropped and there was an alarm blaring the words ‘emergency descent’ over and over.
“We quickly tried to get our oxygen masks on and could see everyone else frantically trying to do the same. The crew were very quick to react and were helping some people who were struggling.
“The flow of oxygen started from the masks but it was hard to breathe, so it was immediately apparent that there had been a loss of cabin pressure.”
Earlier today, Dublin’s Airport Authority, DAA, said Ryanair flight FR10, which was bound for Madrid, returned to Dublin Airport this morning due to a “technical issue”.
In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson confirmed the flight deployed oxygen masks and made a controlled descent back to Dublin.
“This flight FR10 from Dublin to Madrid (31 Oct) returned to Dublin shortly after take-off, due to a pressurisation system issue,” they said.
“In line with standard procedure, the crew deployed oxygen masks, carried out a controlled descent and landed safely in Dublin where passengers disembarked normally.”
The oxygen masks dropped from the plane ceiling during the ordeal
Conor explained during the landing he could “smell burning” and that the plane started to get “very hot.”
“The plane quickly began descending and we were told it was making an emergency descent to an altitude where it was safe to breathe and that there had been a decompression/depressurisation of the cabin,” he said.
“You could smell burning and the crew advised us this was due to the oxygen bottles heating up, and the plane started to get very hot as all the air condition systems stopped working, again the crew advised us this was normal.
“Once we reached a safe altitude we were advised we could remove the oxygen masks and were told we would be returning to Dublin and to would take us 40 minutes to get there.
“The crew were very attentive and making sure we were all okay and as informed of the situation as we could be. Eventually we made an emergency landing in Dublin.
“We were then given the option to board another flight and return to Madrid.”
Conor added that despite the replacement flight offered, some passengers did not wish to board due to the incident.
“I would say about 90% of the passengers did go on the next flight but some declined as they were too shaken by the experience.
“It was definitely very scary and unexpected, when the masks dropped the plane went absolutely silent as people realised we were in a genuine emergency, and it was very scary not being able to breathe very well for a couple of minutes.”
A Ryanair spokesperson added: “To minimise disruption to passengers, a replacement aircraft was arranged to operate this flight from Dublin to Madrid, which departed at 11:53 local time.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”