Thousands of British passengers hoping to fly between the UK and one of Spain’s top tourist airports, Alicante, are facing delays and diversions due to poor visibility.
Bad weather at Elche Miguel Hernandez airport, six miles from Alicante, has led to at least 18 inbound flight diversions – eight of them from UK airports.
Tui has diverted inbound flights from Cardiff, East Midlands, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle to Ibiza.
So far easyJet has diverted three flights originally destined for Alicante. The plane from Birmingham has landed in Valencia, while aircraft from Gatwick and Belfast International are in Murcia.
Passengers are told by easyJet: “We're very sorry that your flight has now been diverted. This is due to low visibility in Alicante. The safety of you and our crew is our highest priority, and we thank you for your patience.
“We plan to refuel and continue your flight as soon as possible.”
Britain's biggest budget airline stressed: “The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.”
An estimated 1,200 passengers from the UK to Alicante have been diverted, with a similar number waiting on the ground at the Spanish airport to return.
Many departures from Alicante are delayed by around two hours. Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers on journeys of up to 1,500km whose flights are delayed by at least two hours are entitled to refreshments. For longer European flights, the obligation for airlines begins at three hours.
The Independent has asked easyJet and Tui to comment. Elsewhere in Europe, wintry weather has caused disruption at Bratislava, Prague and Vienna.
A Wizz Air flight from Luton to Bratislava diverted to Budapest. British Airways has cancelled a return trip from London Heathrow to Vienna. The Independent has asked BA to comment.
Further afield, hundreds of Air France passengers are stranded at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan after an engine failure.
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