Ports Director Anne Reynolds says long delays suffered by passengers due to leave the Island on a direct flight to Madeira could have been avoided had the captain made a faster decision.
Frustrated holiday-makers spent five hours on the runway at Ronaldsway on Monday (21 October) when a combination of weather and load factors delayed the departure of an aircraft chartered by Atlantic Holidays.
A change in wind direction meant the plane was too heavy to take-off, however the airport lacked sufficient storage capacity for the quantity of fuel the captain wished to off-load.
The flight eventually left at around 8.30pm Monday after 30 passengers volunteered to give up their seats and leave on a non-direct flight the following day.
Despite an understanding those remaining on-board would fly direct to Madeira, passengers spent the night in Lisbon after a stop-over to accomodate a crew change, only arriving at their resort hotels at 6pm Tuesday, more than 24 hours after boarding.
Ms Reynolds says it's unfortunate the situation was allowed to drag on:
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