Hundreds of people had flights to nowhere after a 100mph storm forced their planes back
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- Storm Éowyn in the UK and Ireland caused at least two flights to nowhere on Friday.
- Other planes struggled to land, with one diverting 300 miles from its intended destination.
- The disruption comes after the North Atlantic jet stream propelled some flights faster than the speed of sound.
An accelerated jet stream meant some flights travelled faster than the speed of sound on Wednesday — but now it's causing chaos for hundreds of passengers.
There were at least two flights to nowhere as Storm Éowyn brought dangerously high winds to some parts of the UK and Ireland.
Ryanair passengers expecting to fly from London to Edinburgh nearly ended up diverting to Cologne.
After circling twice, the Boeing 737 failed to land in the Scottish capital and changed course, per data from Flightradar24.
It then flew over the North Sea as Ryanair's website listed it as diverting to the German city.
However, it then changed course back to London Stansted Airport — touching down two and a half hours after taking off.
Another Ryanair service from London Luton Airport to Dublin also became a flight to nowhere.
Flight RYR338 attempted to land before circling four times around the Irish capital, before returning to Luton, per Flightradar24. The ordeal also lasted about two and a half hours.
Passengers on Ryanair Flight 3976 also faced disruption. They departed Barcelona for Dublin but, after two failed landing attempts, diverted to London Stansted Airport — some 300 miles away.
In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson said the airline "sincerely apologizes to all passengers affected by these storm-related disruptions, which are entirely beyond our control and have impacted all airlines operating to/from the UK."
The airline's ultra-low-cost business model relies on minimal turnover times between flights, so Friday's disruption is likely to have knock-on effects on other flights too.
Thousands of aviation enthusiasts tracked the troubled flights on Flightradar24.
Nearly 8,000 people watched an Emirates A380 struggle to land at Birmingham. After a failed landing attempt, it circled the airfield five times before ultimately managing to touch down.
Flightradar24
Red-weather warnings, meaning there's a danger to life, were in place for all of Ireland and parts of Scotland on Friday. The UK's Met Office said there could be wind gusts as high as 100 miles per hour.
The storm comes after the North Atlantic jet stream was fueled by the recent cold spell in the US.
Its winds were 250 miles per hour faster than usual, causing at least two flights to reach ground speeds above 800 miles per hour.