Storm Isha flight like washing machine - passenger

Aine Morris said there should have been more contingencies in place when airlines were aware of the storm

A passenger who was on a flight diverted to Birmingham amid Storm Isha said it was like "being tossed around in a washing machine".

Aine Morris was on an EasyJet flight from Lyon to Bristol, after a holiday to Berlin, which was forced to land in the West Midlands on Sunday night.

On arrival, the passengers had to wait onboard for more than four hours while they waited for ground crew to help them disembark.

EasyJet said the safety of passengers was its priority.

EasyJet said the safety of passenger was its priority

Ms Morris said the flight had left Lyon at 17:00 local time and was due to land in Bristol at 17:45 GMT.

"Lyon was super clear, there was no sense of an issue, everyone seemed very jolly," she said.

"During the flight they said 'Listen we are going to do our best to land at Bristol, we're not sure if it will happen - there are weather warnings, we may be diverted'.

"On our approach to the UK, the weather was getting worse and worse, the turbulence was getting worse and worse. It was worse than anything I had ever experienced," she said.

"We were being tossed around like a washing machine.

"We were being blown from one side to the other, the whole aeroplane was shaking, there were people crying, there were people saying their prayers, one poor lady at the back was being violently sick."

After an equally turbulent landing in Birmingham at 18:30, she said, the passengers were kept on the plane for more than four hours while they waited for ground crew to get them off and transport them into the terminal.

While she said she could "completely understand" the issues with the flight, the storm had been known about for some time but there was "no contingency, no support" for the passengers.

She travelled with four others in a taxi back to Bristol, eventually arriving at 03:00.

A spokesperson for EasyJet said it had done all it could to minimise the impact of the weather and arranged for onward coach transfers to get customers to Bristol as soon as possible.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is EasyJet’s highest priority and while this was outside of our control we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the weather," they added