Hundreds of Ryanair passengers were left stranded in Spain on Sunday night because of operational difficulties caused by lightning.
The airline said four of its aircraft were struck by lightning on approach to Santander airport in northern Spain on Sunday evening. Three were able to land normally in Santander while another was diverted to Valladolid.
Ryanair engineers inspected each of the aircraft in Santander and the flight to Frankfurt Hahn was cleared for departure with a six-hour delay.
Two other flights, to Rome Ciampino and London Stansted, had to be cancelled because the two remaining aircraft required further overnight inspection and repair.
Both aircraft eventually left yesterday morning although passengers on the London Stansted flight said it suffered further delays due to operational difficulties.
One British family who were due to fly from Santander to London said they were originally told the setbacks were caused by lightning damage, but were then informed the delay was due to "operational problems at the company".
They said no other airline was reporting lightning strikes and that no member of Ryanair staff was on hand to help them.
Ryanair yesterday apologised to the affected passengers for the delays and inconvenience but stressed that safety was its number one priority at all times.
A spokeswoman said the airline operated through local agents in Spain and these would have been available to help passengers.
She denied that any delays had been caused by operational difficulties.
