Compensation in doubt for flight

Some passengers on the aborted flight from Las Palmas to Dublin last weekend have said Panorama Holidays has indicated it will not compensate them.

One Panorama customer yesterday said she was told she was not eligible for anything. "They said nothing was going to be given out," she said. "They said we could have two hours' counselling if we wanted it. That's all. I think it's appalling."

She said Panorama had told her it had never promised compensation to any passengers and the media had blown the issue out of all proportion. Another passenger, who also refused to be named, said Panorama had told him he would not get compensation.

A Panorama Holidays spokeswoman said all the passengers would be dealt with individually. She said she could not comment on whether some passengers would be eligible for compensation, or whether some passengers had been offered compensation.

The Futura 1728 flight carrying 171 passengers made an unscheduled landing at Tenerife on Sunday morning when an engine overheated. Passengers reported hearing bangs and experiencing turbulence before being told they would have to land. They said they were then left unaided for four hours in the airport.

When Panorama and Futura staff arrived, the passengers were told they would be returning to Dublin on the same aircraft after repairs. The passengers refused to return on the aircraft and another Futura aircraft was secured.

The passengers still objected to flying on a Futura aircraft but were told that otherwise they would have to make their own way home. Two passengers, one with an infant, refused to board the aircraft and it left without them.

On Morning Ireland on Monday, Mr Niall McDonnell, Panorama chief executive in Ireland, said the company would make "an offer" to the passengers.

When presenter Richard Crowley said: "This is compensation, basically, we are talking about, a financial offer," Mr McDonnell said: "We are talking about some sort of an offer we will make during the course of the day."

Some passengers are now thinking of forming a group to pursue the issue. Many of them will meet next Wednesday, when they attend a counselling session organised by Panorama. "After all we went through over there, we are not letting this go," another passenger said.

Mr Michael Meagher, Futura chief executive, said the airline had picked up the bill for the accommodation and other expenses incurred by the delay at Tenerife airport. "Any other compensation, for loss of a day's work for example, would be a matter for the travel company," he said.

Mr Meagher said he was speaking to travel companies to ensure that the delay experienced by the passengers could not happen again.