Passengers on a Ryanair flight from Malta to Birmingham reportedly faced extreme heat after the aircraft’s air-conditioning system failed during a lengthy ground delay on August 10.
Flight FR7268 was scheduled to depart at 5:40 am but was delayed by a technical issue. Passengers said they had already spent about an hour in poorly ventilated buses before boarding the aircraft, where the cabin remained without effective air conditioning for more than an hour.
Some reportedly removed clothing, while others vomited or fainted. Sixteen-year-old passenger Eva Gregory said she suffered a panic attack and alleged that free drinking water was not provided, including to passengers feeling unwell.
Ryanair said the flight was initially delayed by a minor technical problem and was later delayed further after a passenger became ill. The airline said engineers inspected and cleared the aircraft to operate, with the flight eventually departing at around 7 pm local time.
Ryanair passengers strip down, vomit and faint after being trapped on sweltering plane https://t.co/0wCl9gXSwv pic.twitter.com/mCqibXsk0z
— New York Post (@nypost) August 14, 2026
Passengers said the air conditioning began functioning after takeoff. Gregory called for the airline to address the incident and improve passenger care.
The episode comes after another Ryanair incident in July, when an engine failure on a Greece-Germany flight reportedly damaged a window and left a passenger partially pulled towards the opening.
