Passengers were reduced to tears, fainting and vomiting as their plane was left stranded in the air by Storm Brendan.
An Aer Lingus flight from Amsterdam to Cork was due to land at 10.30am on Monday amid an orange weather warning.
But as gusts reached 70mph, the pilot was forced to circle the south-west Ireland airport for an hour in turbulent conditions.
Fearful flyers told of 20 people falling ill, fainting and weeping after a first attempt to land was aborted. One passenger also needed medical assistance upon landing, the airline said.
Elizabeth Meehan, 20, told CorkBeo: “'I was sitting with my friends in the last row. Three of my friends are nervous flyers and were crying after we failed to land.”
Mark Foley on Twitter posted a picture of the plane’s circling flight path, adding that it was “really scary” and 20 people were sick.
Following the first attempt, the plane had to wait in a holding pattern behind a London flight and a slower wind speed before it could try again.
Some praised the pilot for managing to weather the storm and land on a second try.
Christiaan Beek tweeted: “Big shoutout to the pilots from @AerLingus who landed in the middle of this storm at Cork, after breaking off the first approach last minute!”
Aer Lingus said in a statement: "Aer Lingus can confirm that flight EI 841 from Amsterdam to Cork on Monday 13th January performed a standard ‘go-around’ procedure on approach due to high winds.
"The aircraft landed safely in Cork Airport at 11:29. Paramedics met the aircraft upon arrival and tended to one individual who required medical assistance. All other guests and crew disembarked normally from the aircraft.”
