A group of 100 students from the Open University in Brussels were refused entry to a Ryanair flight regarding a dispute over excess baggage charges on Saturday.Lanzarote Airport
The flight that had been due to leave Lanzarote airport at 10:15 for Cherleroi in Brussels actually departed at 13:51 with only 66 passengers on board.
The students had spent the week holidaying in Puerto del Carmen, two large groups had arrived from the university two days apart on the 27th and 29th January 2011. The situation arose because several of the students had refused to pay the excess luggage charges when they were over the allowance of 10kg as allowed by Ryanair.
The Guardia Civil were called to intervene and evacuate the students from the plane so that the pilot could ensure the safety of the flight and other passengers. According to the police the students protest was peaceful, there was no fight and no one was detained. Ryanair issued a press release stating that the students not involved in the dispute would be allowed to take other Ryanair flights to leave the island however the students that started the argument over excess baggage would not be welcome and would have to travel with alternative airlines.
Robert Havet the Belgian consul flew to the Lanzarote from Tenerife to help with the situation. There are still some 60 students waiting for a flight, it will take until at least Tuesday to get everyone back home utilising both the direct and indirect flights to Brussels. Ryanair has made a condition that no more than 15 students per flight will be allowed to avoid any kind of incident.
Wow.......
