Tourists Trapped at Holiday Spot After Ryanair Abandons Luggage in UK

A Disturbing Incident on a Ryanair Flight

A shocking event unfolded when a Ryanair flight from Bristol to a popular Spanish island arrived with no luggage for any of the passengers. This unexpected situation left travelers stranded without their belongings and raised concerns about the airline's handling of baggage.

The flight, designated as FR4757, departed from Bristol Airport on Friday, 18 July, and landed in Gran Canaria without a single suitcase on board. Passengers were only informed of the missing luggage after landing, with the flight's captain attributing the issue to "time constraints" and a security problem at the UK airport. However, many travelers felt that they were not given enough information or support during this ordeal.

Madeline Cooper, a 22-year-old from Taunton, was flying out with friends to celebrate a birthday and graduation. She shared her experience with SomersetLive, stating that the flight captain made an announcement mid-air. According to Madeline, there were no issues until the plane landed, and then the captain announced that they had made the difficult decision to not bring any of the luggage. The captain did not disclose the details of the security issue, which added to the confusion and frustration among the passengers.

As the group realized they were not alone, they learned that 70 bags had not made it onto the flight. Another member of the group, Sophie Payne, mentioned that most holidaymakers arrived at their destination without essential items. She described the stressful experience of searching for a pharmacy in Gran Canaria for an inhaler, as she suffers from severe asthma.

The group, who were staying at the Cordial Green Golf Bungalows, were told they should expect to receive their luggage by the evening of Saturday, 19 July. However, by 6pm that night, they had received no communication from Ryanair and were only advised to keep using the app for updates. Madeline and her friends, who are students, had to spend €60 on transport costs to travel to a shopping center to buy clean underwear and other essentials.

With temperatures exceeding 33 degrees Celsius last weekend, affected passengers also had to purchase sun cream, as Sophie noted, "There's a lot of burnt bodies around here." Many other passengers took to social media to express their frustration over the weekend, sharing their experiences and venting their anger.

One user posted, "Currently in Gran Canaria with zero belongings," while another wrote, "Great start to the holiday as Ryanair decided to bring 0 of the suitcases from Bristol to Gran Canaria. No heart medication for me tomorrow." A third passenger complained, "We’ve had to spend over 300 euros on essentials as we have been left with nothing, all of our clothes were in the hold bags, still haven’t heard nothing from Ryanair."

In response to the incident, a spokesperson for Ryanair stated that the airline operates over 3,600 daily flights across more than 250 destinations and leads the industry with the fewest lost bags—1 bag mishandled per almost 10,000 passengers. They attributed the issue to an error by their third-party handling provider at Bristol Airport, which resulted in a number of bags not being loaded onto the flight from Bristol to Gran Canaria on Friday (18 July). The spokesperson added that affected passengers were notified and their bags were rushed on the next flight from Bristol to Gran Canaria, which departed the following afternoon.

Ryanair sincerely apologized to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused by the third-party handling provider's error and emphasized that they are working with the provider to ensure that this does not happen again.