Ryanair staff and passengers call police after 11 hour delay at Stansted
Ryanair has defended itself after passengers claimed they called the police after being stuck on a plane "without food or water" during an 11 hour delay at Stansted Airport.
Footage emerged on YouTube of agitated passengers on the Stansted to Porto flight. Several hours later, police are seen entering the aircraft and explaining to passengers they are not able to leave the airport.
Warning: Footage contains language some viewers may find offensive:
A video diary of what happened was recorded by Portuguese passenger Joao Pinheiro who put the footage up on YouTube.
The flight on Valentine's Day was originally due to take off at 8.25pm - but eventually departed almost 12 hours later after delays due to "adverse weather".
In the footage, passengers were reportedly first told to board at around 12.15am.
In a statement, Ryanair said that the flight was delayed due to "strong winds", disrupting handling and fuelling operations at Stansted. They added that it was the Captain's decision to call the police:
Essex Police confirmed that they had initially been contacted by airport channels at the Captain's request, but subsequently by passengers on board the plane.
They added that no further action was required.