‘I was on Ryanair flight to Cork when bad weather and snow closed airport runway suddenly’

Passengers on board a Cork-bound Ryanair flight were told mid-air that the captain would have to ‘slow down’ the plane after a runway at Cork Airport suddenly closed.

The runway closed abruptly due to adverse weather conditions during a Status Orange weather warning this afternoon – and the airline crew were made aware of the change halfway through the flight.

One traveler who was on the flight at the time said it was an “uneasy” and frightening experience seeing the weather deteriorate from the plane windows. He explained that at around 4:10pm crew confirmed they would have to divert to Dublin Airport as snow at Cork had only gotten heavier.

The 2.25pm Birmingham to Cork service was about halfway to landing when the captain announced that the plane would have to ‘slow down’ and reduce its speed – as the runway at Cork Airport was suddenly covered in heavy snowfall.

“I was listening to music when my wife nudged me to take my headphones out – as the captain was announcing that the runway in Cork had suddenly closed,” the passenger said,

“There was an uneasy feeling as we left our holding pattern in Cork and quickly ascended again for the diversion to Dublin. Very cloudy and a little turbulent. Some of us even spotted ice forming on the outside of the windows.”

The plane eventually touched down in Dublin, where there has been much less wintry weather, at 4:40pm.

Now the passenger and his wife, who were travelling home to Cork after spending the festive season with family abroad, are waiting to find out how they will get back on Leeside.

“There’s been no panic but everyone’s wondering how they’ll get back to Cork considering the roads are so bad,” he said, and explained that Ryanair crew promised there would be a transfer to Cork from Dublin.

“In fact when they announced the diversion and transport, someone shouted ‘hooray, 3 hours to cork’ to some laughter.”

The Birmingham flight, which was due to land Leeside at 3.40pm, was one of a number of Cork flights which was diverted to Dublin this afternoon.

Other diverted services include a KLM flight from Amsterdam, Aer Lingus flight from Malaga, and Ryanair flights from Alicante and London and one Ryanair flight from Faro which was diverted to Ireland West.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/i-ryanair-flight-cork-bad-30713586