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22nd Jan 2024

Dublin flight from Manchester diverts 500 miles to Paris due to Storm Isha

Simon Kelly

Passengers said the experience was a “nightmare”.

Spare a thought for those looking to catch a quick Sunday evening flight home to Dublin from Manchester only to end up 500 miles away sitting on a runway in Paris.

A flight due to land in Dublin last night from Manchester was diverted to the French capital as a result of strong winds associated with Storm Isha, much to the dismay of those on board.

Initially due to land at Dublin at around 3.30pm, the flight was already delayed by an hour when leaving Manchester on Sunday afternoon. After takeoff, the plane was forced to circle over the Irish Sea multiple times before aborting its landing, leading it to fly 500 miles away to Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport, landing shortly before 5.30pm.

Dublin flight from Manchester forced to divert to Paris due to Storm Isha

One of the passengers on the flight was journalist Nicola Bardon, who told the Manchester Evening News that the plane was “already delayed leaving Manchester.”

She said: “We got to Dublin and were over the runway, and then the next thing, we were back in the sky.

“We attempted [to land] again and then the pilot made an announcement that Dublin was too windy and that Manchester was full, so we were going to the East Midlands,” she added.

But conditions weren’t much better in England, and about 20 minutes later passengers were given an update that the pilot “had made the decision to go to Paris Beauvais.”

“There was a big laugh from the passengers when the pilot informed us of Paris initially,” Bardon said.

“One person yelled ‘Welcome to Pari, would prefer to be in Kerry’.”

Bardon then revealed that the “nightmare” flight got worse as they were stuck on the runway for over two hours without any information.

Multiple flights have been cancelled today, Monday, January 22, as the fallout from Storm Isha continues to wreak havoc around Ireland.

Dublin Airport reported that 29 flights (13 departures, 16 arrivals) were cancelled on Monday morning on top of the huge numbers of cancelled trips on Sunday.

An airport spokesperson advised customers due to travel today to check directly with their airlines regarding the status of their flight.

In a post on X on Monday morning, Dublin Airport announced that the first wave of flights are moving without restriction as winds from Storm Isha eased in the early hours.

However, due to a number of flights being “out of position” today, there will be an impact on flight schedules.

Yesterday 148 flights were cancelled at Dublin Airport, including 75 arriving and 73 departing flights. A total of 35 flights were diverted to other airports.

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