Photo: thianchai sitthikongsak / Moment / Getty Images
A powerful winter storm in Ireland and the United Kingdom caused dozens of flight cancelations and diversions, leaving some passengers stranded in other countries, CNN reported.
Officials said that the storm, named Isha, created a dangerous situation with high winds, making it difficult to land at airports across the region.
"Isha made its presence felt in the south of England and Ireland, where the winds were gusting 70-75 mph, south-westerly, which meant crosswinds at our major airports in the south, with wind shear and turbulence adding extra challenges for flight crews," Steve Fox, head of network operations for the UK's air traffic control operator, wrote in a blog post.
Dublin Airport was forced to cancel 166 flights on Sunday (January 21), while an additional 36 flights were forced to land elsewhere.
In one instance, a Ryanair flight from the Canary Islands to Dublin was forced to divert to Bordeaux, France. Another Ryanair flight from Manchester to Dublin, normally a 30-minute flight, was in the air for over two and half hours before diverting to Paris Beauvais.
One passenger described their miserable experience on a diverted flight to the Daily Mail. They were flying from Milan to Manchester but ended up landing at a different airport in London.
"We were kept on the plane for over two hours with no information and no amenities," they said. "Cups of boiling water were served to anyone who asked for water; the plane was stifling; there were children and babies trapped on board a boiling hot plane."
Passengers on an easyJet domestic flight from Edinburgh to Bristol found themselves stuck in France, unable to leave the terminal because they didn't have their passport or national ID cards.
While the weather improved on Monday, airlines were struggling to get back on schedule as many planes were scattered throughout the region.