Passengers describe their fear at hearing an `explosion'

"There were people praying, crying and getting sick. It was panic stations, people were hysterical," one passenger said yesterday, recalling the traumatic Futura flight from Las Palmas.

The first indication that something was wrong came when passengers heard a long bang, according to passenger Mr Bartley O'Connor. "It was an explosion followed by a number of bangs at the right side of the aircraft." He said one passenger saw fire and sparks coming from the engine, but Futura has since said the engine did not catch fire.

"Everyone was gripping their seats in terror and looking for everyone else's reaction. I thought that was it. I've flown pretty frequently and I've never experienced anything like that."

"We thought we were finished," another passenger said. "The way the plane reacted after the bangs had us very worried. The air hostesses were saying that everything was all right but you could see they were frightened themselves."

That passenger, who did not wish to be named, had three children with him. "They slept for a bit, but when they woke they didn't know what was going on," he said.

What happened after the flight was aborted was just as traumatic, according to Mr O'Connor. "We were just thrown into the airport and left there for about four hours. An apology would be nice."

He said the passengers would have to be generously compensated for the trauma they experienced and the work days they had missed. "The way we were treated on the ground was as stressful as being in the aeroplane."

Panorama has defended its response to the incident and said it would be making "an offer" to the passengers through their travel agents. "We have received our resort report and are happy that our staff, in difficult circumstances, did everything possible to look after our clients during their stay in Tenerife," said Mr Niall McDonnell, the chief executive of Panorama.

"On behalf of Panorama Holidays, I would like to express my deep regret at the inconvenience and upset caused to our clients."

Mr Malachy Byrne, secretary to the Air Transport Users' Council, said this case highlighted the need for an EU charter of passenger rights. A draft charter is expected from the European Commission before the end of the year.

"Air travel is still the safest way of travel, but when something goes wrong, the passengers must be informed. They must never be left in the dark," Mr Byrne said.