A Ryanair flight from Morocco to Manchester was diverted to Portugal after a disruptive passenger incident, leaving 177 travellers stranded overnight.
The passengers, including 32 children and infants, were forced to stay in Faro when UK aviation authorities refused to allow a replacement aircraft to complete their journey.
The incident has sparked a heated dispute between Ryanair and the Civil Aviation Authority over post-Brexit aviation regulations.
Flight RK1265 had departed on schedule from Agadir on Thursday evening when a "drunken and aggressive" passenger became disruptive.
A Ryanair flight from Morocco to Manchester was diverted to Portugal
PAAbout an hour after take-off, as the Boeing 737 was flying off the southwest coast of Portugal, the captain diverted to Faro.
Police removed the troublesome passenger, and the aircraft was refuelled to continue to Manchester.
However, a technical issue was discovered that required an engineer's attention.
The aircraft is operated by Ryanair UK, a subsidiary created after Brexit to maintain routes between the UK and non-EU countries.
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No Ryanair UK engineer was available in Faro, so the airline's main unit, Ryanair DAC, offered an identical aircraft and crew as a replacement.
The CAA refused permission for this solution, despite reportedly approving a similar arrangement earlier that day for a flight from Girona to London Stansted.
Eddie Wilson, Ryanair DAC chief executive, blasted the decision as "bureaucracy and red tape gone mad".
"It's utter bull****," he told The Independent. "This is done routinely when there is an unplanned event. It's a rescue flight."
Wilson added: "It goes on an identical Ryanair aircraft same tail, same uniforms, same procedures, same everything except computer says 'no' back at CAA headquarters."
The plane was due to land in Manchester
GETTYHe vowed to sue the disruptive passenger for the additional costs incurred.
The CAA defended its position, saying it "plays a key role protecting passengers as well as enabling growth in the UK aviation sector".
A spokesperson said Ryanair UK "has chosen to operate a flight schedule that requires 18 aircraft, but has only allocated 15 aircraft to its UK registered business".
"Ryanair has prioritised the placement of aircraft within their other EU based business over the UK, leaving UK passengers at a higher risk of disruption," they added.
The stranded passengers were due to depart for Manchester an hour after the CAA's statement was issued.
In 2020, the CAA had warned that UK airlines with significant UK presence "should not rely heavily on using wet-leased, foreign-registered aircraft to undertake their operations."
The 177 affected travellers spent a night in Algarve hotels before continuing their journey home.
