Ryanair emergency landing puts 16 in hospital

(26 August 2008)

Sixteen passengers have been taken to hospital after a sudden loss of cabin pressure forced a Ryanair plane to make an emergency landing on Monday evening.

Flight FR9336 was flying from Bristol to Girona airport in Barcelona when it had to be diverted to Limoges International airport in France.

Passengers reported a sudden blast of cold air followed by a loss of pressure as the plane descended rapidly. Several people complained of earache on landing and were taken to hospital.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary insisted that the cabin crew followed correct procedure, despite no announcement being made when the plane began to lose altitude and complaints about oxygen masks not deploying correctly.

The incident is the latest in a series of problems for the airline industry. A Qantas flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila in July after its fuselage burst open, and 153 people were killed in a Madrid plane crash last week.